Ace Attorney: Truth Remains
by Mr. Demon Lawyer
Summary: 1000 views! Yay! Everybody likes to imagine and write down their owns AA games, right? Well, me too. CASE 2 COMPLETE.
1. The Buried Turnabout:Trial 1-1

It was a dark and stormy night. A woman walked fast through a graveyard.

"Dearie! Dearie! Where have you gone?" She yelled. "Oh, there you are."

Suddenly, a hand popped out of the ground.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek"

Then, a deep voice could be heard: "Rest in peace."

**February 13, 9:55 AM**

**District Court- Defendant Lobby No.3**

**POV: Athena Cykes.**

A yellow suited girl walked nervously around the room. _Why is he not here yet? The trial is about to start. Is not like him being late._

"Is something wrong, miss?" A deep voice said. The girl turned to see a big man with long,raven hair and stubble on his face. He wore an open black overcoat over a dark brown jacket, grey suit pants, black boots and a black hat. He was pushing down his hat, which covered his eyes.

"Mr Stone!" She replied. " Have you seen Apollo?"

"The loud mister from yesterday?" His voice was very deep and he spoke slowly.

"Yes, he usually comes before me, but he's not here yet."

"Theres is no need to worry. A morning with a soft breeze and a cloudy sky with some sunny spells. It's a good time for the last breath. He will surely rest in peace."

"What? No, he's not dead." _Ok, I'd better call him. _She reached into her pocket, looking for her phone, but she found nothing._ Shoot. I forgot it again._

"We have a special discount on coffins today: two for one. But someone else would have to join your friend in his last journey. Are you feeling healthy today, miss?"

"I'm not dying, Mr. Stone!"

"What a shame."

_My name is Athena Cykes and I'm a rookie defense attorney. This man here is my client. He's been accused of murder. He's kind of creepy, probably the reason why nobody else wants to defend him. But it's the job of a lawyer to look out for the people who have no one on their side. That's what my boss always says. And I know from experience how huge the difference between being alone and having people supporting you can be. That's why I took his case. My co-worker, Apollo Justice, was supposed to be here as my co-counsel, but he's nowhere to be found. That doesn't mean he's dead. I think. I hope._

"Athena, are you crying?" A young girl dressed in a magician outfit approached her.

"Trucy! What are you doing here?"

"It's for Polly. He's at the graveyard." _Oh, no. So it was true._ Athena hugged Trucy.

"I'm so sorry." Her sobbing was interrupting her words. "Cry if you need it. I know you too were really close."

"I don't know what are you talking about, but Polly ask me to bring you something."

"You mean...like his last will?"

"Still don't know what are you talking about. Polly told me that he woke up early this morning and decided go investigate the crime scene. Apparently you couldn't do it yesterday."

"Yes. The police didn't let us do it." _Wait, so he's alive?_

_"_Are you okay? You keep crying and crying."

"Apollo is alive!" Widget beeped, glowing green.

"I know. I talked to him earlier. He's been calling you, but you didn't answer the phone, so he called me. He wanted me to tell you that he would like to do some more investigation, so he would be late". She stopped to pull out a big book with a brown cover. "He also give me this for you."

**Book added to the Court Record**

(A huge book. Apollo sent it to me.)

"A book? What I'm supposed to do with it?"

"Maybe... read it?"

"But the trial is about to start! I don't have the time to read such a huge book right now!"

"Then...why don't you check it in detail?"

"Check it in detail?"

"Yeah...Polly used to do that a lot when we worked together. I'll show you how to do it. First, you choose an object." She pulled out a golden badge. " And then..."

"Wait! That's my attorney badge! When did you...!?"

"A magician never reveals her secrets." She said, tilting her hat. "Back to the point, you just have to look at it from every possible angle and point out whatever that catches your eye. In example, this badge has a number on the back."

"That's my ID number. The bailiffs always check it before I can enter the courtroom. That's how they make sure that I'm me and not a phony."

"Really? I don't remember nobody checking Polly's badge in his trials. Or Daddy's, for that matter. Maybe they just don't believe that you are an actual lawyer." _Should I be offended, or worried about the lack of proper security? Because I'm offended. _"Well, now's your turn. Check out the book."

"Got it!" Athena said, taking the book to examine it."Let's see. The title is "Court Manners 101". Wait a moment. Is this some kind of innuendo!? Is he making fun of me!?" She threw away the book in anger.

"Woah. Talk about an overreaction."

"Sorry."

"Hey, look." Trucy pointed to a white card on the floor."That thing dropped from the book."

Athena leaned down to pick it up. It had an horribly drawn Apollo's face and the words "You're fine" written on it. "What the heck?"

"Maybe Polly feels bad for leaving you all alone and this is his way of trying to calm your nerves."

"I'm not nervous!"

"Yes, she is." Widget chirped.

"Shut up, Widget."

"Well, I'd better get going." Trucy said."If I'm not back at school soon they will realize that I'm not there."

"You're playing hooky!? That's a no-no! But how did you manage to leave without anyone noticing?"

"Magic." She knocked her head and stuck out her tongue."Goodbye and luck in there." She left the lobby, as happily as she had entered it.

Then a bailiff spoke: "The trial is going to start. Please come in."

Athena looked again to the card she was still holding. _So I'm fine, uh?. I'd better believe it. _She headed to the courtroom door and punched her palm. "Let's do this."

_Last time I was alone behind the defense bench...well, it didn't go very well. But that's not gonna happen today!...right?_

**February 13, 10:00 AM**

**District Court- Courtroom No.2**

"The court is now in session for the trial of Mr. Tom Stone." The judge said, banging his gavel.

Behind the prosecution bench, there was a bald man, although the sides of his hair remained and were grown to his neck. He wore a yellow suit and a red tie, and the light reflected in his glasses.

Meanwhile, at the defense bench, Athena was sweating jets.

"Are you okay, Ms Cykes?" The judge asked. "If you keep sweating light that, you're going to dehydrate."

"Yes!" She replied, crossing arms and grinning "I'm fine! And ready! And psyched! And ready!"

"She wants to run out of here." Widget beeped.

"Widget! I'm trying to bluff!"

"It's natural for her to be scared, Your Honor." The prosecutor chimed in. "For she is facing Winston Payne, the older brother of her most feared enemy." _Most feared enemy?_ _Well, he certainly creeps me out, but... _"She must be living a nightmare right now. You're right to be scared, Ms. Cykes" He flicked his hair. _Now that was definitely nightmarish. _"I'm like my brother, but hardened by experience." _More like worn by age, if you ask me. _

"In any case, I would like to ascertain Ms. Cykes' readiness with a small test." the judge said.

_What? A test? Now? That's not the standard procedure. Or it is? Great, now I'm blank. What I'm going to do? Wait, I have this book, "Court Manners 101". It has all the basics about the courtroom. If I can't remember something, I always can take a quick peek of it._

"First question: Who's the victim in this case?"

_The victim? Okay, all the little information I have about the case should be in the court record. _"Got it! That's a trick question. The victim in this case hasn't been identified yet"

"And how come that?"

"Well" Athena moved her finger across the holographic screen in front of her. "The body was discovered yesterday at the graveyard, but according to the autopsy report, he died over a week ago. That's way the corpse was too deteriorated to be properly identified." _Eeeeww. _

The judge nodded. "You seem ready enough. But there's something I don't understand. If the crime occurred over a week ago but the body wasn't discovered until yesterday, why have the police already a suspect?"

"That's an easy one! They found traces of blood on the gravedigger's shovel, and consequently arrested his owner, the gravedigger, Mr. Tom Stone."

"OBJECTION!" Payne shouted." It's not the job of the prosecution to give the opening statement?"

"That may not be necessary, Mr. Payne." The judge replied. "The defendant seems pretty guilty right now."

_Hehehehe. Take that, Payne. Who's running the show now? Wait. _"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack" Athena flinched in shock.

"HOLD IT." Everybody was surprised. Stone took the stand. "I have a problem with the defense statement"

"Wait, is the defendant cross-examining the defense!? Should not be the other way around!?"

"But Miss Cykes has said something awfully wrong." _So this is not going that bad, after all. Finally a bit of luck. _"She said that "The body was found yesterday at the graveyard."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"Well, Happy Ending Cemetery is not just some dusty graveyard." Everybody stared at him. "We're a proud institution that dates back to the nineteenth century. A sacred place where those who are no longer among us can finally rest in peace, providing all the necessary amenities to ensure a comfortable eternal sleep." _I though the eternal sleep was already ensured without any amenities. _"And all at incredible prices and with special discounts every day of the week." Stone handed flyers to everybody.

**Happy Ending flyer ****added to the Court Record**

(Sunday: Artistic ending. Pick your free new-fashioned coffin from the exposition in the funeral home. Monday: Partners ending. Two coffins for the price of one. Tuesday: Mourned ending. Free wreaths and bouquets. Wednesday: Cultural ending. Guided tour around famous tombs. Thursday: Luxurious ending. Rank A coffins at Rank B prices. Friday: Famous ending. Guest star in the ceremony. Saturday:Personal ending. Make your own coffin.)

"Oh! Today is "two coffins for the price of one." the judge said.

"Interested, Your Honor?" Stone asked. "Are you feeling healthy today?"

"The defendant will refrain from making unpleasant insinuations regarding the health of those presents." He banged his gavel. "Should we now proceed with the verdict?"

"OBJECTION!" Athena shouted.

"What now? Do you also have a problem with your claims, Ms. Cykes?"

"Actually, yes. Mr. Stone was arrested because his fingerprints were found on the murder weapon. But he's the gravedigger and that shovel is his tool! It's natural for his fingerprints to be all over it! That's far from enough to render a verdict! Anyone wearing gloves could have use the shovel to commit this crime!" _Yeah. Now you're on the ball, Cykes._

"OBJECTION!" Payne screeched, moving his hand. "And that's why is the prosecution who should ever give the opening statement."

"Just get to the point already." Widget chirped.

"All of the tools of the gravedigger are kept in a locked storage room in the funeral home. And the one and only key to that room, belongs to the defendant!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!" Athena flinched. "But, but...Mr Stone! Tell me that you lost the key."

"That would be difficult." Mr Stone said, reaching his collar and pulling out a chord with several keys hanging on it. "I always keep all the keys around my neck."

"All the keys?"

"Yes. Let me explain. Please, look at this plan."

**Cemetery plan added to the Court Record**

(The funeral home is on the right side of the cemetery. Inside it, there's a hallway with two rooms on each side. On the left, the storage room, with a door leading outside, and the shop, with a door to the hallway. On the right, the Farewell Room, with a door to the hallway, and the Crematorium, whose only door connect to the Farewell Room.)

"All of the rooms in the funeral home are locked when not in use. That's why I have keys to the shop, the Crematorium, and the Farewell Room along with the keys to the cemetery, the funeral home main entrance and the storage room. Nobody could enter them without my permission."

**Keys added to the Court Record**

(The keys to the cemetery, the funeral home, the storage room, the crematorium, the farewell room and the shop. Mr. Stone always keep them with him.)

"So, in a nutshell, you're the only one with access to the murder weapon?"The judge asked.

"No." Stone replied."Actually, I lost the shovel last week. I didn't find it until yesterday."

"OBJECTION!" Payne yelled. "That's just an excuse!"

"OBJECTION! There are no basis to deny my client's claim!"

"It seems we've reached a deadlock." The judge said."Is there anything against Mr. Stone besides the murder weapon?"

"But of course." Payne flicked his hair. "But first, I'd like Mr. Stone to testify about the discovery of the body, for the sake of clarifying the case. He happens to be one of the first persons to the scene."

"It seems like a good idea to me. We need to know everything related to this case to reach a proper verdict" The judge agreed."Any objections from the defense?"

"None, Your Honor." Athena replied.

"Witness, state your name and occupation." Payne demanded.

"My full name is Tom Bartholomew Stone. My job is to build the final and eternal home for those who have already closed their eyes forever." _Neve thought I would meet a pretentious gravedigger."_

"Please, testify about the moment when the body was discovered."

"As you wish."

**Witness Testimony**

**-Discovering the body-**

**"The body was discovered yesterday.**

**It was a cold and foggy evening. A good time for the last breath.**

**A lady came to me with a complaint.**

**Her father's grave was supposed to be dug by then, but apparently it wasn't.**

**We walked to the tombstone, and I could see that she was right.**

**I immediately started to dig.**

**Very deep under the ground, there was a coffin.**

**And inside it, a body long abandoned by its soul."**

**"**So, who's that other person who was there when the body was discovered?" The judge asked.

"That would be Ms. Helen Pick. Her father's funeral was scheduled for today, but his tombstone had been settled in the graveyard for a while." Stone replied.

"I'd like to present this photo taken where the body was found and the coffin as evidence." Payne stated

"The court will accept them into the record."

**Photo of the grave added to the Court Record**

(Three tombstones can be seen on the photo, John Donat's on the left, Joe Pick's on the middle and James Onmey's on the right. In front of the middle one, there's a deep grave.)

**Coffin added to the Court Record**

(A silver coffin decorated with flowers motifs outside and red, quilted velvet inside. It's muddy outside but unpolluted inside.)

"That's one of our special new-fashioned Rank-A coffins." Stone explained. "Cozy, right?" _Well, it does seems kind of comfortable, but I doubt our victim would care about that. _"What's the matter, miss? Want to try it?"

"Maybe another time." Athena replied, sweating. "Let's go back to your testimony."

"The defense may now cross-examine the witness."

_Right, the cross-examination. I've done this lot of times. Well, maybe not lots, but a few. And I can take a peek of this book if I need it. Press, present, I can deal with. Oh, you can present profiles, too? That's a new one._

**Cross-Examination**

**-Discovering the body-**

**"The body was discovered yesterday.**

**It was a cold and foggy evening. A good time for the last breath.**

**A lady came to me with a complaint.**

**Her father's grave was supposed to be dug by then, but apparently it wasn't.**

**We walked to the tombstone, and I could see that she was right.**

"HOLD IT." Athena interrupted. "So, you didn't notice that the grave wasn't dug until Ms. Pick take you there?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Do you have a problem with the witness statement?"

"Of course I have!" Athena slammed the desk. " Mr. Stone, you are the gravedigger! If a grave that should have been dug wasn't, then you should be the first one to notice!"

"!"

"Ms. Cykes has a point" The judge agreed. "Why didn't you notice it?"

"So it has come to this." Stone muttered. " I wanted to keep it a secret but it seems I have no choice. I must confess."

_Wait, confess? I hope this is not going where I think is going._

**Witness Testimony**

**-Confession-**

**"Ms. Pick is a very exigent client.**

**She wanted her father's grave to be dug next to her mother's long before the funeral.**

**Unfortunately, I wasn't able to fulfill that task.**

**When she complained about it, I pretended to be surprised.**

**I have a reputation to uphold."**

The judge opened his eyes in shock. "So you never actually dug the tomb?"

"No."

"But there was even a body buried there!"

"That's someone else work, I'm afraid."

_Well, that wasn't that bad. But...there's something there that doesn't add up. What could it mean?_

"The defense may cross-examine the witness."

**Cross-Examination**

**-Confession-**

**"Ms. Pick is a very exigent client.**

**She wanted her father's grave to be dug next to her mother's long before the funeral.**

"OBJECTION!" Athena shouted. " Are we to take that Mr. Pick want to be buried next to his wife?"

"Correct."

"But that's weird. Please, look at this photo of the grave. None of the tombstones next to Mr Pick's belongs to one Ms. Pick!"

"That has to be a mistake. I personally set that tombstone next to Ms Pick's long time ago."

"Long time ago?" The judge asked

"Yes. Many years ago, actually. Mr. Pick was so keen about been buried next to his wife that short after her funeral, he make me put his own tombstone next to her's."

"Someone booking a place in the graveyard is certainly not an everyday matter. " The judge said. "But the tombstone has definitely changed his place since then. Any theories at this respect Ms. Cykes?"

_Why does he always have to ask me? Let's think about this. Mr. Pick's tombstone used to be next to his wife's, but now it's not. It couldn't have move on its on, and if you think about what else happened, it become obvious who moved it. _"Your Honor, I think the person who moved the tombstone...is not other than the culprit behind this case!"

"You mean, the same person who killed our unidentified victim also moved the tombstone?"

"Yes. After killing the victim, the culprit buried the body in the graveyard to hide their crime. But what if by chance a grave was dug at the very place where the body rested?"

"Then, the body would be discovered."

"Exactly. That's why, to keep this crime hide forever, they disguised the body as a buried person. They put it inside a coffin and moved a tombstone on top of the grave. Everything to prevent other graves to be dug there!"

"That seems likely." The judge agreed. "But does this mean anything to our case?"

_Does it means anything? _"Of course it means!"_That's it. My opportunity to get the upper hand. _"Despite all of the culprit's efforts, the body was discovered anyway. That's because they made the mistake of picking the only tombstone in the cemetery that still didn't have anyone buried under it. That begs the question: Who would commit that error?"

"Well, that information is not common knowledge. Most of people could have make a mistake like that."

"Yes, it'd be easier if we count who wouldn't commit that error. And the first person who should come to our minds, is the person in charge of the graves, the person who put that tombstone there in the first place, someone who knew for a fact that there wasn't anyone buried there. The defendant, Mr. Tom Stone!"

"But, then that means..."

"That he is, without a doubt, not guilty!" Athena yelled, grinning.

"Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Payne flinched

"Ms. Cykes logic is very sound." The judge said. "It's hard to keep labelling Mr. Stone a suspect, given the facts."

"OBJECTION!" Payne screeched. "The prosecution is not done yet. There's a decisive witness that I'd like to call to the stand."

"If there's a witness, the court will heard what they have to say." The judge banged his gavel.

Athena sank on the bench. _Why there always have to be a decisive a witness?_

* * *

><p><strong>Court record:<strong>

**Profiles:**

**Tom Stone **(Male;42): The defendant. He works as gravedigger at the Happy Ending Cemetery.

**Apollo Justice **(Male;23): My senior co-worker. He was supposed to be my co-counsel, but decided to investigate at the graveyard instead.

**Trucy Wright **(Female;16): My boss' daughter and also my co-worker. She wants to be a magician.

**Winston Payne **(Male;63): The prosecutor for this case. He lacks presence.

**Evidence:**

**Attorney's badge: **Nobody believes that I'm a lawyer unless I show them this.

**Court Manners 101: **A book about the basics on courtroom procedures and manners.

**Autopsy report: **Victim: Unidentified. Cause of death: Blunt force trauma to the head. Death was instantaneous. Time of death: Over a week ago.

**Gravedigger's shovel: **The murder weapon. It has traces of blood and Mr. Stone fingerprints on it.

**Happy Ending flyer: **Sunday: Artistic ending. Pick your free new-fashioned coffin from the exposition in the funeral home. Monday: Partners ending. Two coffins for the price of one. Tuesday: Mourned ending. Free wreaths and bouquets. Wednesday: Cultural ending. Guided tour around famous tombs. Thursday: Luxurious ending. Rank A coffins at Rank B prices. Friday: Famous ending. Guest star in the ceremony. Saturday:Personal ending. Make your own coffin.

**Cemetery plans: **The funeral home is on the right side of the cemetery. Inside it, there's a hallway with two rooms on each side. On the left, the storage room, with a door leading outside, and the shop, with a door to the hallway. On the right, the Farewell Room, with a door to the hallway, and the Crematorium, whose only door connect to the Farewell Room.

**Keys: **The keys to the cemetery, the funeral home, the storage room, the crematorium, the farewell room and the shop. Mr. Stone always keep them with him.

**Photo of the grave: **Three tombstones can be seen on the photo, John Donat's on the left, Joe Pick's on the middle and James Onmey's on the right. In front of the middle one, there's a deep grave.

**Coffin: **A silver coffin decorated with flowers motifs outside and red, quilted velvet inside. It's muddy outside but unpolluted inside.


	2. The Buried Turnabout:Trial 1-2

**A/N: This chapter features the Mood Matrix, so I should explain how I've tried to turn something like that into text. It'll be just like a standard witness testimony, just adding in brackets a color for each emotion and a number between 1 and 5 to show their intensity. For the overload mode, I'll underline all of the possible options to probe.**

* * *

><p>An elderly woman with green eyes and dyed blonde, curly hair took the stand. She wore a long, light-blue dress, pink heels and a sun hat. She was carrying and petting a poodle in her arms.<p>

"Witness, state your name and occupation."

"My name is Olive Dwidow, but you can call me Oli if you wish. I'm retired."

"You witnessed something at the graveyard last week, right?"

"Yes. It was on February fifth, specifically. It was a terrifying experience!"

"without further ado, please give your testimony."

**Witness Testimony**

**-Terrifying experience-**

**"I went to the graveyard to visit my Michael**

**It was his death anniversary.**

**I was there until night.**

**And then...Eeeeeeeeek!**

**It was that man, the defendant!"**

_How in the world is that decisive?_

"And what was the defendant doing?"

"I don't know, but he was there! "Dwidow replied "My memory is a little fuzzy, but I remember his voice saying "rest in peace" perfectly!"

"Rest in peace!?" The judge asked, shocked.

"Exactly, Your Honor." Payne said. "That sounds like something a murderer would say to his victim after killing them!"

"OBJECTION!" Athena yelled. " That can't be enough to make my client a suspect! And the witness seems a bit confused. I think a therapy session is in order."

"Certainly, there're a few strange thing in Ms. Dwidow testimony. The court will allow a therapy session."

Athena pressed Widget and drew a circle on the holographic screen in front of her.

**I went to the graveyard to visit my Michael**

**It was his death anniversary(Blue:3)**

**I was there until night(Red:2)**

**And then...Eeeeeeeeek!(Blue:5)**

**It was that man, the defendant!(Blue:4)**

**NOISE LEVEL:100%**

_Ok, this is my thing. I'm hearing a lot of discord from Ms. Dwidow. I bet I can find a few contradictory emotions in her testimony. And then I just have to pinpoint them. Green means joy, red means anger, blue means sadness or fear and yellow means surprise._

**I went to the graveyard to visit my Michael**

**It was his death anniversary(Blue:3)**

**I was there until night(Red:2)**

"GOT IT!" Athena shouted. "Ms. Dwidow, when you said that you were at the graveyard until midnight, you were feeling anger. Do you know why?"

"Anger?" Dwidow muttered." Oh! I remember getting angry that day. It was the weather. It was raining buckets. By the time I left, my hair was a mess. I had been at the hairdresser just that morning so it was annoying."

"I used to get mad about things like that when I was young." The judge chimed in.

"I always get angry when it rains right after being at the hairdresser." Payne agreed. " It feels like throwing away the money. _I'd say just going to the hairdresser it's throwing away the money in your case._

"You remind me of my Michael. He never got over losing his hair."

**INFO UPDATE**

**I went to the graveyard to visit my Michael**

**It was his death anniversary(Blue:3)**

**It was raining buckets(Red:2)**

**When I left, my hair was a mess (Green:1 ;Red:3)**

**And then...Eeeeeeeeek!(Blue:5)**

**It was that man, the defendant!(Blue:4)**

**NOISE LEVEL:90%**

_There's still a lot of discord. And also some out of place emotions._

**I went to the graveyard to visit my Michael**

**It was his death anniversary(Blue:3)**

**It was raining buckets(Red:2)**

**When I left, my hair was a mess (Green:1; Red:3)**

"GOT IT! Now you're feeling joy when talking about when you left and your hair was mess."

"That must be...because I had just found my Dearie! I was so relieved!"

"Your...Dearie.?"

"Yes, my Dearie" She said, raising her poodle. "I remember now. He got lost and I was looking for him. That's why I stayed at the graveyard until night."She kissed the dog." Don't worry Dearie, you're with mommy Oli now."

**INFO UPDATE**

**I went to the graveyard to visit my Michael**

**It was his death anniversary(Blue:3)**

**It was raining buckets(Red:2)**

**My Dearie got lost. (Blue:4;Yellow:3)**

**I had to stay at the graveyard until night to look for him(Red:3;Blue:3)**

**When I finally found him, I was relieved. (Green:4;Yellow:5)**

**And then...Eeeeeeeeek!(Blue:5)**

**It was that man, the defendant!(Blue:4)**

**NOISE LEVEL:75%**

_The noise remains, but it didn't seems to be any misplaced emotions. However, if I look at the intensity of the emotions, I maybe can find something off._

**I went to the graveyard to visit my Michael**

**It was his death anniversary(Blue:3)**

**It was raining buckets(Red:2)**

**My Dearie got lost. (Blue:4;Yellow:3)**

**I had to stay at the graveyard until night to look for him(Red:3;Blue:3)**

**When I finally found him, I was relieved. (Green:4;Yellow:5)**

"GOT IT! When you found your Dearie, you felt joy, but also a huge amount of shock. Some shock could be expected, but you were more shocked then than when he got lost."

"Well, it surprise me when I found him there all of a sudden, digging on the ground. And then...Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!" She tightened the poodle against her chest, leaving him out of breath. The dog tried to escape vainly.

**INFO UPDATE**

**Blue:Overload**

**I went to ****the graveyard**** to visit ****my Michael****.**

**It was his death anniversary.**

**It was raining buckets**

**My Dearie**** got lost. **

**I had to stay at the graveyard until ****night**** to look for him**

**When I finally found him there, digging on ****the ground,**** I was relieved. **

**And then...Eeeeeeeeek!**

**It was that man, ****the defendant!**

**NOISE LEVEL:50%**

_This is... an emotional overload. When an emotion is too strong, it interrupts the signals of the other emotions. To calm her, I need to probe the source of this overwhelming fear._

**I went to ****the graveyard**** to visit ****my Michael****.**

**It was his death anniversary.**

**It was ****raining buckets.**

**My Dearie**** got lost. **

**I had to stay at the graveyard until ****night**** to look for him**

**When I finally found him there, digging on ****the ground,**** I was relieved. **

"GOT IT! Ms. Dwidow, do you happen to be afraid of...the ground?"

"The ground? The ground...The ground! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! I remember it clearly now! What I saw was a hand! A hand a popping out from the ground!"

**NOISE LEVEL:0%**

"A...a hand popping out from the ground!?" The judge asked. "You mean...like a zombie raising from their grave.?"

"Yes. It was pretty far away from me, but that was what I saw."

Everybody gasped in shock. The gallery burst into chatter.

"But Your Honor, this is preposterous!" Payne said. " Is the defense trying to pin the blame on a zombie?"

"It's the prosecution witness who had brought that up!" Athena protested. " And there's no longer discord in her voice! She's telling the truth!"

"I take it that you really claim that a zombie is our murderer.?"

"We've seen stranger before, don't we?" Athena grinned.

"Not really."

"It seems that Ms. Cykes has a too rich imagination."

"Maybe it's your imagination what's too poor, Mr. Payne."

"Putting aside imagination, are you sticking to that claim?"

_I'd better think carefully about it. As cool as a zombie murderer sounds, I'm risking losing my credibility if I walk that way. What I have to think about is what Ms. Dwidow could have seen that looked like a zombie raising from the grave. Wait, raise from the grave? That's it._

"Your Honor, I think the hand Ms. Dwidow saw actually belonged to...the culprit!"

"So, you think the court should study further the zombie culprit idea?"

"No, Your Honor. I mean our human culprit. Mr. Stone, you said earlier that the body was buried very deep under the ground, right?"

"Yes, about seven feets, if I recall correctly." Stone replied.

"As I thought. To get out of such a deep hole, anyone would have needed to use their hands to climb up. And if someone happened to look at that scene from enough far away, the first thing they'd have seen is a hand popping out of the ground! In other words, what Ms. Dwidow saw was the culprit getting out of the hole after they had finished digging it!"

"Is that right, Ms. Dwidow?"

"I guess it's possible. I was so terrified after seeing the hand that I passed out."

"You passed out?"

"Yes. And when I woke up, the first thing I saw was the defendant saying "Rest in peace". That's the truth."

"You see, Your Honor." Payne said. "Everything is crystal clear now. Ms. Dwidow saw the defendant burying his victim. First, she saw him getting out of the hole, and then she heard him saying "Rest in Peace" right after burying the body."

"OBJECTION!" Athena yelled. "Ms. Dwidow passed out. The culprit could have finished the job long before she woke up, and Mr. Stone could also have come to the place in the meantime."

"Sustained." The judge said. "This seems like a dead end. Neither the defense or the prosecution have solid proof to support their claims. It seems another day of investigation is needed...

_Yes, finally! A little more time to investigate is just what we need._

"OBJECTION!"

Everybody looked at the witness stand.

* * *

><p><strong>Court record:<strong>

**Profiles:**

**Tom Stone **(Male;42): The defendant. He works as gravedigger at the Happy Ending Cemetery.

**Apollo Justice **(Male;23): My senior co-worker. He was supposed to be my co-counsel, but decided to investigate at the graveyard instead.

**Trucy Wright **(Female;16): My boss' daughter and also my co-worker. She wants to be a magician.

**Winston Payne **(Male;63): The prosecutor for this case. He lacks presence.

**Olive Dwidow **(Female; 67): A witness. She saw Mr. Stone at the graveyard the day of the crime.

**Evidence:**

**Attorney's badge: **Nobody believes that I'm a lawyer unless I show them this.

**Court manners 101: **A book about the basics on courtroom procedures and manners

**Autopsy report: **Victim: Unidentified. Cause of death: Blunt force trauma to the head. Death was instantaneous. Time of death: Over a week ago.

**Gravedigger's shovel: **The murder weapon. It has traces of blood and Mr. Stone fingerprints on it.

**Happy Ending flyer: **Sunday: Artistic ending. Pick your free new-fashioned coffin from the exposition in the funeral home. Monday: Partners ending. Two coffins for the price of one. Tuesday: Mourned ending. Free wreaths and bouquets. Wednesday: Cultural ending. Guided tour around famous tombs. Thursday: Luxurious ending. Rank A coffins at Rank B prices. Friday: Famous ending. Guest star in the ceremony. Saturday:Personal ending. Make your own coffin.

**Cemetery plans: **The funeral home is on the right side of the cemetery. Inside it, there's a hallway with two rooms on each side. On the left, the storage room, with a door leading outside, and the shop, with a door to the hallway. On the right, the Farewell Room, with a door to the hallway, and the Crematorium, whose only door connect to the Farewell Room.

**Keys: **The keys to the cemetery, the funeral home, the storage room, the crematorium, the farewell room and the shop. Mr. Stone always keep them with him.

**Photo of the grave: **Three tombstones can be seen on the photo, John Donat's on the left, Joe Pick's on the middle and James Onmey's on the right. In front of the middle one, there's a deep grave.

**Coffin: **A silver coffin decorated with flowers motifs outside and red, quilted velvet inside. It's muddy outside but unpolluted inside.


	3. The Buried Turnabout:Trial 1-3

A young man took the stand. He had brown eyes, orange hair combed to the right and a moustache. He wore a light brown suit, a white shirt, a red bowtie and woolen gloves. He had his left hand in his pocket and was playing with his moustache with his right hand.

"May I ask who are you?" The judge asked.

"I'm a witness." The man replied. "I saw the crime you're triyng here been committed, and I thought that my testimony may be interesting for the court to heard."

The gallery burst into chatter. _You gotta be kidding me._

"But the incident happened over a week ago. You didn't call the police or something?"

"Court Manner 59: Always back up your claims with evidence. With my testimony alone I couldn't proof even that someone was killed then, but now that the body has been discovered, I can finally tell the truth."

"So you witnessed a murder and just let it be until the trial today?"

"Cour Manner 8: Crime matters must be settled only in court." _There's definitely something wrong with this guy. _" Am I allowed to testify?"

"Well, a witness is a witness, no matter how crazy or suspicious they look."

"That's Court Manner 35. Wise choice, Your Honor."

"First of all, state your name and occupation, please" Payne asked.

"My name is Justin Laws. I'm a defense attorney. "He pointed to the badge on his lapel." I've just passed the bar exam, though."

"You may testify now."

**Witness Testimony**

**-Witnessing the crime-**

**"It was on February fifth.**

**I went to the funeral home to say goodbye to my father.**

**When I came out, I saw everything.**

**The defendant took a shovel, and beat the victim on the head.**

**I was scared, so I ran away."**

_Okay. No contradictions at first glance. Time to press._

**Cross-Examination**

**-Witnessing the crime-**

**"It was on February fifth.**

"HOLD IT!" Athena shouted. "Why didn't you tell the police about this?"

"Court Manner 44: Don't ask questions that have already been answered." Laws replied. "In court, evidence is everything. That's why." _No. Still makes no sense. But I'm not going anywhere pushing it._ "Can I go on with my testimony?"

**I went to the funeral home to say goodbye to my father.**

"HOLD IT! So I gather that your father died recently."

"Court Manner 12: Obvious things don't need to be stated. _Stop lecturing me! I've been in more trials than you, newbie! _"He was walking around a building under construction when a brick fell on top of his head. He died on the spot. An awful tragedy."

"Can you confirm that, Mr. Stone?"

"Mr. Ashton Laws, right? Yes. His funeral was on February Fifth." Stone replied. " As far as I was told, he died on a sunny afternoon. A good time for the last breath."

"You may continue your testimony." The judge demanded.

**When I came out, I saw everything.**

"HOLD IT! What do you mean by everything?"

"Court Manner 61: Save your questions for the end. I was about to get to that."

"Court Manner 5: Get to the point as soon as possible." Athena said

"Wait. That's not 5. That's 23."

"Just live up to it and go on with the testimony!"

**The defendant took a shovel, and beat the victim on the head.**

"HOLD IT! Are you sure they were the defendant and the victim.?"

"Well, it was raining buckets and everything, but I could perfectly make their faces. So I'm positive the attacker was the defendant. And for the attacked, I know the victim has yet to be identified, so you're not going to get me there. _Shoot, he read me. _But the built matches, and c'mon, what are the chances of two murders happening at the same place and the same time? _That contradiction died before even been born._

"And what did you do after witnessing the crime?" The judge asked.

**I was scared, so I ran away."**

"HOLD IT! And yet, you didn't call the police."

"Court Manner 97: Don't repeat yourself! I didn't have any proof. The police force is too busy to be bothered with unproven claims. How many times do I have to tell you!?" _Repeating it won't make it __reasonable._

"This testimony could actually turn around this case." The judge said. "Do you have any problems with it?"

_W-Wait, what's happening? There weren't any contradictions there. I though this kind of testimonies only existed in nightmares. What the heck I'm going to do now?_

"OBJECTION!"

Everybody flinched in shock. The door swung open and a red suited lawyer with two hair spikes appeared.

* * *

><p><strong>POV: Apollo Justice<strong>

Apollo walked to the defense bench.

"Apollo! I'm so glad to see you again!" Athena said, crying. _Is really THAT bad the situation here?_

"Why are you staring at me like if you were looking at a ghost!?"

"What do you object to, Mr. Justice?" The judge asked

"?"

"You shouted "OBJECTION!" as you entered."

"Oh. Don't mind that, Your Honor. It was jus for my entrance." Apollo replied, scratching his head.

"Entrance?" Athena asked.

"Yes. Mr. Wright told me to make an entrance. On second thought, "OBJECTION!" can be misleading. Maybe I should have shouted "HOLD IT!" or even "HERE COME JUSTICE!"

"Apollo, I swear, you sometimes think too much." _Is that right? Do I overthink? But thinking is always good, and the more the better, isn't it? Maybe is she who should think more. _"Anyway, how was your investigation?"

"I didn't find anything else. I've asked Mr. Wright to keep investigating the graveyard for me. I hope he'll do better than me."

"Then what are we going to do!? There aren't flaws in his testimony!"

"Maybe. But my bracelet is reacting"

"Oh. Your bracelet reacts when people gets tense, right?"

"Yeah. And that can mean a number of things. Maybe he's lying, maybe he's particularly nervous about something or maybe both. I have to find where exactly in his testimony he gets tense to figure it out."

"And you can do that by spotting a nervous tell."

"Exactly. Mind if I take over this cross-examination?"

"Be my guest."

**Cross-Examination**

**-Witnessing the crime-**

**"****It was on February fifth.**

**I went to the funeral home ****to say goodbye to my father.**

**When I came out****, ****I saw everything.**

**The defendant** **took a shovel, and beat ****the victim ****on the head****.**

**I was scared****, ****so I ran away****."**

_OK. I just have to focus in the statements I find suspicious and then spot a nervous tell to find where exactly he gets tense._

**The defendant ****took a shovel, and beat ****the victim ****on the head****.**

"GOTCHA!" Apollo shouted. "Mr Laws, when you were talking about the victim, you were moving the hand on your pocket."

"What?"

"You know the victim's identity don't you?"

Laws tugged his moustache hard and started sweating "Court Manner 80: Don't be ridiculous! I had never seen that man before the crime."

"What do you have in your pocket?"

"My wallet. Nothing else."

"Can I see it?"

"Court Manner 76: Respect the privacy."

"Then we could return to argue why you didn't call the police." Athena said

"Alright! I'll follow Court Manner 67: Witness must be cooperative. Take it." He threw Athena his wallet. "The money is counted."

"What are you planning to do with this, by the way?" Athena asked.

"Check it in detail." Apollo replied. "He was moving his wallet inside his pocket when he talked about the victim. There must be something inside it that could tell us what is he hiding."

"Got it!" She started to pull out things from the wallet. " Money. Cards. More money. A Photo."

"Let me see that." The photo pictured Laws and another man, who resembled him and was wearing a similar outfit, but with beard instead of moustache and the hair combed to the left." Who's this on this photo?"

"That's Lawson, my older brother. We take that photo the day I passed the bar. That was last time I met him."

"Do you think what he's hiding have something to do with his brother?" Athena asked.

"Yes. And if it also has something to do with the victim, we just have to put two and two together. But we don't really have any basis to make that claim."

"This incident happened over a week ago. You'd think that his family or coworkers would report his disappearance."

_Wait. His coworkers?. _"I think there's something in this photo that might help us."

"What do you mean?"

"TAKE THAT! See this badge on Mr. Laws' lapel?"

"His attorney's badge?" Athena asked. "He took this photo just after passing the bar. It's natural he wanted to show off. " _I bet you did the same._

"No. I mean the other Mr. Laws' lapel."

"That's...a prosecutor badge!" The judge said, surprised.

"Yes. My brother was a prosecutor. What about it?"

"Wait. Prosecutor Laws? That sounds familiar. I think I've presided over some of his cases before."

"Now that you mention it, I think I've seen that man around the Prosecutor's office." Payne added. "Not lately though."

_That's all I need to hear. _"Your Honor, I'd like to request a questioning at the prosecutor's office about Prosecutor Lawson Laws."

"And what specifically should we ask them?"

"Wether or not someone has seen him this past week."

"Wait, are you suggesting...?"

"Yes, Your Honor. I believe that our unidentified victim is none other than Lawson Laws!"

"Bailiff! Request a questioning at the Prosecutor's office! And also a DNA and fingerprint comparison between the unidentified body and Prosecutor Lawson Laws."

"Yes, sir!" The bailiff ran out of the room.

"HOLD IT!" Laws shouted, tugging his moustache hard. "Court Manner 32: Don't jump to conclusions."

"What do you mean?"

"Court Manner 79: The Witness Stand is to give testimony."

**Witness Testimony**

**-Don't jump to conclussions-**

**"I haven't told a single lie since I took the stand.**

**It's true that I hadn't seen my brother since I passed the bar.**

**And that won't change even if the body turns out to be him.**

**I mean, my father's funeral was the day of the crime.**

**It wouldn't have been unusual for him to come."**

"Didn't you stated earlier that you didn't know the victim?" Apollo asked.

"I didn't know the victim I saw getting attacked. Maybe my brother was also killed the same day."

"What are the chances of that?"

"Court Manner 16: No matter how unlikely, a possibility is still a possibility."

"This guy is making excuses before even been accused of anything." Athena said, sweating.

"Yeah. You know what that usually means, don't you?" Apollo said.

"It's time to expose all of his lies!"

"By the way, did Trucy brought you that book?"

"Court Manners 101? Yes, she did. Why did you send me it, anyway?"

"Well, I found it at the graveyard. I thought it might come in handy here."

"Wait, it was evidence!?"

"What do you thought it was!?"

"Nevermind. We should check it thoroughly."

"I found some interesting things about it earlier. First of all, some pages have been teared."

"Yeah, it lacks pages from 20 to 35."

"And apparently was rented from the courthouse library."

"Did you look who rented it?"

"No, actually. Let's check it."

"It seems that Justin Laws had rented this book over twenty times."

"That's not surprising."

"But, look, the last person who rented it was not him. It was Lawson Laws."

"Interesting. We could use this information."

"Cour Manner 95: If you're not going to cross-examine the witness, don't have them waiting." Laws complained.

"Yes, sorry. We were getting to it." Apollo said, scratching his head.

**Cross-Examination**

**-Don't jump to conclussions-**

**"I've not told a single lie since I took the stand.**

**It's true that I hadn't seen my brother since I passed the bar.**

**And that won't change even if the body turns out to be him.**

**I mean, my father's funeral was the day of the crime.**

**It wouldn't have been unusual for him to come."**

"HOLD IT! So you don't know whether he went to the funeral or not?"

"Not at all. There wasn't a huge ceremony or anything. It was just his corpse on a coffin for all those who wanted to bid farewell to him."

"Can you confirm that, Mr. Stone?"

"Yes. I can also confirm that only Mr. Laws' two sons were interested in visiting him one last time."

"That's...kind of sad." Athena said.

"Yeah...My father was never the most popular of mans."

"But Mr. Stone just confirmed that your brother did go the graveyard the day of the crime!"

"I just found out it too!"

"Stop playing dumb with us! I know you met him in the graveyard, and I can prove it!"

"Go ahead, then!"

"TAKE THAT!"

"What's that, a book?"

"Is not an ordinary book. It's a copy of Court Manners 101 rented from the courthouse library by Mr. Lawson Laws himself and found at the Happy Ending Cemetery!"

"Well, I guess he could have taken it to the graveyard. How does that proves that I met him?"

"One don't just carry around a book to a funeral for no reason! And this book is for rookie attorneys. Your brother has been a prosecutor for several years, right?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"It's unlikely that he would be interested in this book. He surely rented it for someone else. Probably a rookie attorney. And a person that has already rented this book many times. The same person who keeps quoting it. You, Mr. Laws! Your brother gave this book to you at the graveyard the day of the crime! Are you going to admit it or do we have to conduct a fingerprint analysis?"

"ARGHHHHHHHHH!" Laws tugged his moustache hard.

The court burst into chatter.

"Order!" The judge banged his gavel. "Well, Mr. Laws?"

"All right. I met my brother that day. I had asked him to bring me that book from the library."

"But why were you hiding it?"

"Because we argued about my father's will."

"If I recall correctly, all of Mr. Ashton Laws properties were to be divided equally between his two sons." Stone chimed in.

"How do you know about that Mr. Stone?" Athena asked.

"I'm a certified notary. I offer my services regarding wills to the cemetery clients." _But he always put the gravedigger stuff first?_

"My brother wanted a 25/75 distribution. Things got pretty intense."

"That sounds like a motive for murder to me." Apollo said, pointing his finger.

"Court Manner 53: Don't point your fingers to the innocent. This is exactly why I was hiding it. I didn't want to look suspicious." _To late to pull that one off, Mr. Laws._

A Bailiff ran into the room. "Your Honor, the results of the investigation about Prosecutor Lawson Laws just came!"

"Well?"

"He hasn't gone to work since last week. It has been impossible to locate him. _As I thought. _And, for the DNA and fingerprints comparisons with the body...no matches!" _As I...Wait._

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?" Apollo flinched.

Laws smirked. "Court Manner 101: Never ever think you got the upper hand."

The gallery burst into chatter.

* * *

><p><strong>Court record:<strong>

**Profiles:**

**Tom Stone **(Male;42): The defendant. He works as gravedigger at the Happy Ending Cemetery.

**Athena Cykes **(Female; 18): My junior co-worker. She was taking the lead until I came.

**Trucy Wright **(Female;16): Mr Wright's adopted daughter. An aspiring magician.

**Winston Payne **(Male;63): The prosecutor for this case. He lacks presence.

**Olive Dwidow **(Female; 67): A witness. She saw Mr. Stone at the graveyard the day of the crime.

**Justin Laws **(Male; 21): A witness and rookie attorney. He claims to have seen the moment of the crime.

**Phoenix Wright **(Male; 34): My employer. Currently investigating at the graveyard.

**Evidence:**

**Attorney's badge: **Just putting this badge on make me feel ready.

**Court manners 101: **A book about the basics on courtroom procedures and manners. Lawson Laws rented it from the courthouse library. Found at the graveyard. It lacks some pages.

**Autopsy report: **Victim: Unidentified. Cause of death: Blunt force trauma to the head. Death was instantaneous. Time of death: Over a week ago.

**Gravedigger's shovel: **The murder weapon. It has traces of blood and Mr. Stone fingerprints on it.

**Happy Ending flyer: **Sunday: Artistic ending. Pick your free new-fashioned coffin from the exposition in the funeral home. Monday: Partners ending. Two coffins for the price of one. Tuesday: Mourned ending. Free wreaths and bouquets. Wednesday: Cultural ending. Guided tour around famous tombs. Thursday: Luxurious ending. Rank A coffins at Rank B prices. Friday: Famous ending. Guest star in the ceremony. Saturday:Personal ending. Make your own coffin.

**Cemetery plans: **The funeral home is on the right side of the cemetery. Inside it, there's a hallway with two rooms on each side. On the left, the storage room, with a door leading outside, and the shop, with a door to the hallway. On the right, the Farewell Room, with a door to the hallway, and the Crematorium, whose only door connect to the Farewell Room.

**Keys: **The keys to the cemetery, the funeral home, the storage room, the crematorium, the farewell room and the shop. Mr. Stone always keep them with him.

**Photo of the grave: **Three tombstones can be seen on the photo, John Donat's on the left, Joe Pick's on the middle and James Onmey's on the right. In front of the middle one, there's a deep grave.

**Coffin**: A silver coffin decorated with flowers motifs outside and red, quilted velvet inside. It's muddy outside but unpolluted inside.


	4. The Buried Turnabout: Trial 1-4

"Order! Order! Order! So the victim is not Prosecutor Laws?"

"Of course not, Your Honor. I've been telling you from the very beginning."

"But he's missing!" Apollo shouted.

"Maybe something happened to him later that day at other place."

"But that's...that's..."

"The only logical conclusion? Yes, it is."

"Then, you reassert your testimony about witnessing the crime?" The judge asked.

"Court Manner 21: Witness must tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. That's everything I've done since I took the stand." _Liar! We've caught you lying just now!_

"Things as they are, it doesn't seem that we should discredit Mr. Laws testimony." The judge said. "And if we take it as proof, then defendant would be guilty."

"Ack! Apollo! Think of something!" Athena shouted

"I'm trying!"

"Now then, if there aren't any objections, I may render the verdict..."

"OBJECTION!"

The door slammed open, and a blue suited lawyer with spiky hair appeared.

"Boss!"

"Mr. Wright!"

"Your Honor, I'm coming from the Happy Ending Cemetery." Phoenix said. "And I bring with me the decisive evidence that would turn around this case! I request a recess to discuss it with the defense team."

"Well, if that evidence is so decisive, I guess it's worth of it. Court will reconvene after a thirty minutes recess." The judge banged his gavel.

* * *

><p><strong>February 13, 12:45 PM<strong>

**District Court- Defendant Lobby No.3**

**POV: Phoenix Wright**

Phoenix, Athena, Apollo and Stone were gathered.

"That was close." Athena sighed.

"Yeah, you made it just in time, Mr Wright." Apollo agreed.

"So, Athena, who's made the best entrance? There's some Eldoon's Noodles at stake."

"This isn't the moment for this" _You're not very confident about your entrance, are you?_ "What's that decisive evidence you found at the graveyard?"

"Well, actully, I've brought three pieces of evidence." Phoenix said. "First of all, this Prosecutor's Badge. I've check the identity and it belongs to Prosecutor Laws."

**Prosecutor's Badge added to the Court Record**

(It belongs to Prosecutor Lawson Laws.)

"I also found this crushed bouquet near where the body was found."

**Crushed bouquet to the Court Record**

(Found near where the body was found.)

"And finally, this bunch of paper sheets."

"It looks like they have something written on them, but I cant't read it." Athena noticed.

"Yeah, these red strains cover everything. Do you think it's...blood?" Apollo suggested.

"Probably." Phoenix agreed.

**Bunch of paper sheets added to the Court Record**

(They are bloodstained.)

"That's all?"

"What were you expecting?"

"Decisice evidence!" Apollo shouted "None of this evidence proof anything conclusively. As long as there was a murder, it's natural to find blood, and Prosecutor Laws is already confirmed to have been in the graveyard!"

"Don't tell me you were bluffing again." Athena grimaced. _Guilty._

"Well, if they aren't conclusive on their own, you just have to find a way to make them conclusive. That's how this works."

"That won't wash, Mr. Wright. Your bluff, your problem."

"As you wish" Phoenix replied " Should we return to the courtroom?"

"Wait just a moment." Athena said. "Mr. Stone, something has been bothering me. You pretended to be surprised about Mr. Pick grave not being dug to avoid upsetting Ms. Pick, right?"

"Correct."

"But why wasn't the grave dug in the first place?"

"Oh. That." A Psyche-lock appeared. _What? A Psyche-Lock?_

"Something's the matter, boss?"

"The magatama is reacting."

"Oh! A Psychedelic-Lock!?"

"What's a Cyclic-Lock?" Apollo asked.

"Psyche-Lock. They're the mental barriers that keep the secrets of a person soul. Thanks to my magatama, I can see them and break them with evidence."

"What? This is another bluff, isn't it?"

"No! And I'll show you it right know! TAKE THAT!"

**-Why the grave wasn't dug-**

"Mr. Stone. It's time to talk about why you didn't dig that grave."

"...It was an accident..." Stone muttered. "I didn't mean to harm it." _Something that was harmed and near the grave?_

"Mr. Stone, are you talking about this? TAKE THAT!"

"..."

"This bouquet...I found it near Mr. Pick grave. And it's totally crushed. As if someone had stepped on it. This is your fault, is not, Mr Stone?"

"It seems there's no point in hiding it." The Psyche-Lock broke.

"What did truly happened that day, Mr. Stone?"

"I was going to dig the tomb on February fifth. It was a stormy night. A good time for the last breath."

"Always a good time for the last breath..." Widget chirped.

"It's never a bad time for a happy ending. That's our slogan." _That's some sinister slogan for a graveyard. Why would they need a slogan, anyways? _"When I was about to start, I accidentaly stepped on a bouquet from one of the nearby tombs and I panicked."

"You...panicked?"

"Yes. The bouquet that someone had brought out of love for one of our dear clients, utterly ruined. What a horrible scene. Just the thought of it is terrifying." _Right. But discovering a decaying corpse is no big deal._ "I had to do something. I ran to the shop in the funeral home to make a bouquet and replace the lost one. It took me a few hours."

"A few hours!?"

"Some unplanned bouquet can't substitute the love people put in their present for their deceased loved ones. I had to make one exactly like the one I ruined. " _I'm not sure people put all that thought in their bouquets, though. _"When I finished, I took the bouquet to the tomb where it belonged and wished the client a peaceful rest."

"That must be what Ms. Dwidow saw!" Athena said.

"That was when I realized that I had lost my shovel. I didn't find it until yesterday, so I couldn't dig the grave."

**Crushed bouquet updated in the Court Record.**

"Thanks for telling us the truth, Mr. Stone. Now we can fully focus in proving your innocence."

"Yes! Let's do this!" Athena said.

"The recess is about to end" Apollo said. "We should get going."

* * *

><p><strong>February 13, 1:05 PM<strong>

**District Court- Courtroom No.2**

"Let us reconvene." The judge said."Mr. Wright, I think you were about to present conclusive evidence."

"Oh. Yeah. That. Well..."

"Mr. Wright, if you don't live up to your words, I'll have no choice but to penalize you. Sorely."

Phoenix gulped. _OK. Now I need to turn this evidence into something conclusive. Maybe looking at it from another angle, I can think of something. _"TAKE THAT!"

"That's...a Prosecutor's Badge?"

"Not an ordinary Prosecutor's Badge. It's Prosecutor Laws' Badge. And was found at the Happy Ending Cemetery."

"But we already know that Prosecutor Laws went to the graveyard the day of the crime. What does this proof?"

"Think about it this way: The badge is something very important for we attorneys and prosecutors. It's not something you just lose without noticing. Unless...something happens to you!"

"I think you got a point." The judge said in thought.

"OBJECTION!" Laws shouted. "And if it's something so very important, tell me, where's Ms. Cykes' badge right now?"

"Don't you see it?" Athena said. "It's right here on my la...Wait. Where is it!?" She crouched and looked around the floor. "It must have fallen off. Apollo, help me find it!" Apollo rolled his eyes and crouched.

"Court Manner 95: Show, don't tell. Badges sometimes fall off. Maybe that's what happened to my brother at the graveyard."

"But then, he would have returned to look for it, right like Ms. Cykes is doing right now!"

"Got it!" Athena shouted, putting on her badge.

"But what if something happened to him after that, at other place, at other time?" Laws said "His whereabouts are unknown, after all."

"You don't seem too concerned about him." Apollo pointed.

"Have I tell you he was a jerk? Because he was...I mean...he is."

"He's not even bothering anymore." Apollo said, grimacing.

"But we can't just ignore his disapperance!" Athena shouted.

"Court Manner 88: Don't discuss unrelated mysteries. We are here to uncover the truth about the murder of Mr. Unidentified, who we know is not my brother. And the truth is that the defendant killed him. Because I witnessed it myself."

"Are you willing to testify again about it, Mr. Laws?" The judge asked.

"Court Manner 55: Always obey the judge."

**Witness Testimony**

**-Restating the statement-**

**"Everything came about exactly as I said earlier.**

**I was leaving the funeral home when I saw Mr. Stone and Mr. Unidentified.**

**All of a sudden, the defendant took his shovel and hit the victim on the head.**

**And then I ran away."**

"That part about running away seems pretty suspicious to me." Phoenix muttered.

"Already tried." Athena said. "It didn't work." _Then I guess I'll have to press him on something else._

"You may corss-examine the witness."

**Cross-Examination**

**-Restating the statement-**

**"Everything came about exactly as I said earlier.**

**I was leaving the funeral home when I saw Mr. Stone and Mr. Unidentified.**

**All of a sudden, the defendant took his shovel and hit the victim on the head.**

"HOLD IT! Care to elaborate on the moment of the crime?"

"Court Manner 11: Answer what you are asked. What do you want to know about? The defendant? The victim? The murder weapon?"

_I'd better think carrefully about it. _"What did the victim do that moment?"

"Well, people don't usually do a lot of things after being killed. He just got hit and collapsed in the mud."

"Do you think this statement is relevant?" The judge asked.

_The mud, uh? _"Yes, Your Honor. Please, add it to your testimony."

**After being hit, the victim collapsed in the mud.**

"OBJECTION!" Phoenix shouted."Look at this coffin, Your Honor."

"I hope that's not some sort of innuendo." The judge said.

"No, Your Honor." Phoenix said, sweating. "This is the coffin where the body was found."

"What about it?"

"If you take a body from the mud and put it inside a coffin...some of the mud should be transfered onto it. But this coffin doesn't have a single stain inside!"

"ARGH!" Laws tugged his moustache hard.

"You're right. What's the meaning of this!?" The judge asked.

"I'll tell you the meaning of this!" Phoenix said. "If the victim had died out in the graveyard, he would have, in fact, collapsed on the mud. But the coffin is totally umpolute inside, so the crime scene must be somewhere else."

"And where do you suggest the crime was actually committed?"

"TAKE THAT! Right here, at the funeral home."

"What do you have to say to that, Mr. Laws?"

"Court Manner 99: Never go aganist the facts. Mr. Wright is right. The crime took place at the funeral home. I just misremebered it."

"That's not something you just misrember!" Athena shouted angrily. "You were blatanly lying!"

"But why would he lie about something like this?" Apollo asked.

_That's indeed a good question. Maybe_ _it's the moment to think outside the box. Instead of think about why would he lie about it, I'd think about what else could change if the crime occurred in the funeral home. Wait. What if one of our basic asumptions is totally wrong ? But that's ridicoulous! And yet, it's the only way everything make sense. _"I think I got it." Phoenix muttered.

* * *

><p><strong>Court record:<strong>

**Profiles:**

**Tom Stone **(Male;42): The defendant. He works as gravedigger at the Happy Ending Cemetery.

**Athena Cykes **(Female; 18): A lawyer working under me. She's a bit over-emotional.

**Trucy Wright **(Female;16): My daughter. I adopted her eight years ago.

**Winston Payne **(Male;63): The prosecutor for this case. He lacks presence.

**Olive Dwidow **(Female; 67): A witness. She saw Mr. Stone at the graveyard the day of the crime.

**Justin Laws **(Male; 21): A witness and rookie attorney. He claims to have seen the moment of the crime.

**Apollo Justice **(Male; 34): A lawyer at the the agency. He has a very loud voice.

**Evidence:**

**Attorney's badge: **My all-important badge. Proof of my proffesion.

**Court manners 101: **A book about the basics on courtroom procedures and manners. Lawson Laws rented it from the courthouse library. Found at the graveyard. It lacks some pages.

**Autopsy report: **Victim: Unidentified. Cause of death: Blunt force trauma to the head. Death was instantaneous. Time of death: Over a week ago.

**Gravedigger's shovel: **The murder weapon. It has traces of blood and Mr. Stone fingerprints on it.

**Happy Ending flyer: **Sunday: Artistic ending. Pick your free new-fashioned coffin from the exposition in the funeral home. Monday: Partners ending. Two coffins for the price of one. Tuesday: Mourned ending. Free wreaths and bouquets. Wednesday: Cultural ending. Guided tour around famous tombs. Thursday: Luxurious ending. Rank A coffins at Rank B prices. Friday: Famous ending. Guest star in the ceremony. Saturday:Personal ending. Make your own coffin.

**Cemetery plans: **The funeral home is on the the right side of the cemetery. Inside it, there's a hallway with two rooms on each side. On the left, the storage room, with a door leading outside, and the shop, with a door to the hallway. On the right, the Farewell Room, with a door to the hallway, and the Crematorium, whose only door connect to the Farewell Room.

**Keys: **The keys to the cemetery, the funeral home, the storage room, the crematorium, the farewell room and the shop. Mr. Stone always keep them with him.

**Photo of the grave: **Three tombstones can be seen on the photo, John Donat's on the left, Joe Pick's on the middle and James Onmey's on the right. In front of the middle one, there's a deep grave.

**Coffin**: A silver coffin decorated with flowers motifs outside and red, quilted velvet inside. It's muddy outside but umpollute inside.

**Prosecutor's badge: **It belongs to Lawson Laws.

**Crushed bouquet: **Mr. Stone stepped on it and then he make a replacement for it.

**Bunch of paper sheets: **They are bloodstained and have something unreadeable written on them.


	5. The Buried Turnabout: Trial 1-5

"Do you think it's relevant that the crime took place in the funeral home?" The judge asked.

"Yes." Phoenix said, smirking. "Because that will show us the true identity of the unidentified victim!"

The court burst into chatter.

"Order! Order! Mr. Wright, I hope you're not bluffing again."

"I hope that, too." Apollo said. _Have a little faith in me, would you?_

"Tell to the court." The judge said. "Who's the unidentified victim?"

_Actually it's pretty simple. Of all the people at the graveyard the day of the crime, most had shown up in court today, alive and kicking. And if the body it's not Lawson Laws, it can only be one person. _"The unidentified body was once...none other than Mr. Ashton Laws."

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?" The judge flinched. "Mr. Laws' father? But I thought he died by accident when a brick fell on top of his head!"

"Exactly, Your Honor. Mr. Ashton Laws died over a week ago due to a blunt force trauma to the head. Just as stated in the autopsy report. The most basic asumption in this case was completely wrong. We thought that the body belonged to a murder victim, but actually, his death was an accident."

"But then, why would someone try to to hide his body so badly?"

"Because there was a murder that day at the graveyard, just not his. The culprit killed the victim with the gravedigger's shovel. Then, they swapped the victim's body and Mr. Laws', that was in the farewell room for those who wanted to say him goodbye. After that, they put Mr. Laws inside a coffin, took it out, dug a grave, buried it and put a tombstone on top of it. Everything to keep their crime hide forever."

"And who would be this victim?"

"Of course, the person who went missing that day." Phoenix pointed his finger." Prosecutor Lawson Laws!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Laws tugged his moustache hard.

"Bailiff! Order a DNA and fingerprint comparison between the body and Ashton Laws!"

* * *

><p>"The results had come, Your Honor!" The bailiff said. "It's a match. The unidentified body is Ashton Laws."<p>

"Well, Mr. Laws? What do you have to say about this?"

"Court Manner 33: Don't make big roundabouts."

"Roundabout!?" Athena shouted. "But the case has changed completely!"

"Let's suppose that your theory is right. There's something that hasn't changed. The defendant's guilt!"

"What!?"

"He's still the only one with access to the murder weapon."

"He lost it!"

"That's just his word."

"You're wrong, Mr. Laws" Phoenix said. "Because, if the murder took place in the funeral home, there's a piece of evidence that proofs his innocence."

"What!?"

"TAKE THAT!"

"The keys?"

"Yes. The same evidence that got Mr. Stone arrested will set him free. They are the keys to every room, including the crematorium."

"So what?"

"Think about it. Why would he take the trouble of setting such a convoluted plan to dispose of the body when he could easily burn it to ashes?"

"AAGH" Laws tugged his mosutache." But.. Court Manner 77: People sometimes behave illogically. _That not even resembles a manner._ The point is not wether his actions make sense or not, the point it he's the only one who could have done it."

"I hope you're not going to bring up the shovel again."

"You could lose a shovel, but definitely not a coffin. Coffins are kept in the shop, and the only one with access to it is, again, Mr. Stone."

"Apollo, what day is today?" Phoenix asked.

"Monday. Why?"

"Because then, there's something in the court record that we could use to crush his argument! TAKE THAT!"

"That's one of those flyers from the Happy Ending Cemetery."

"According to it, there's a coffin expostion on sundays. February fifth, the day of the crime, was a Sunday. That means, there were lots of new-fashioned coffins all over the funeral home. New-fashioned coffins just like the one the culprit used!"

"AAAAAAAAAARGH!"

"That's how the killer could get a coffin. Mr. Stone probably lost the shovel in the funeral home too. If the killer had access to the crematorium, then they would have used it, so we know is not Mr. Stone."

"Then, who is it?" The judge asked.

"Obviously, the person that had been trying to keep us as far from the truth as possible! TAKE THAT! You, Mr. Laws!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH" Laws tugged his moustache hard.

"You got him, Boss."

"Yeah, well done, Mr. Wright."

"He...he...hehehehehehehehehehe. You'd make a good story-teller, Mr. Wright." Laws said.

"What?"

"Court Manner 1: In court, evidence is everything. You have yet to prove that a murder occurred that day at the graveyard, let alone that I killed my brother."

"We'll just have to open Ashton Laws' coffin to..."

"I'm afraid that will not be possible." Stone said. "Mr. Laws was cremated."

"What!?"

"And did you happen to look inside the coffin to check whose body was there of if there was a body at all?" Laws asked, smirking.

"There was no reason to do such a thing."

"There you have it. Court Manner 50: No Body, No crime. And if you want to analyse his ashes or something, I'll have you know that I spread them at the beach, like he always wished." _More like where they never would be find._

"But we know that someone bury your father's body."

"So? Maybe it was my brother and that's related to his disapereance." _Now he's trying to pin it on the victim? _"I know it was not me, at the very least."

"What now, boss?"

"We can't let him get away with it!" Apollo said. "There has to be something." _He's right. We need something. Something to prove that there was a murder at the graveyard. Who could have known that we'll end up trying to prove the very premise of the case. Wait. If it's premise we have to prove, then that piece of evidence that didn't seem to bring nothing new, could turn out decisive._

"TAKE THAT!"

"What are you up to now with that bunch of papers?"

"If you see, this paper sheets are bloodstained. This amount of blood couldn't possibly appeared out of nowhere. I believe this is what the killer used to wipe the blood on the funeral home and the shovel."

"!"

"If we run an anaylisis, I'm sure the blood will turn out to be from Lawson Laws. And not only that, I'm also sure that this pages will turn out to be the missing pages from the copy of Coutroom Manners 101 that your brother brought you that day!"

"ARGH!"

"Mr. Laws, You've gone really far in order to keep your crime hidden." Phoenix pointed his finger at him. "But add this to your book: Court Manner 102: No matter if you try to bury it or burn it, in the end, the truth will always remain!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Laws tugged his moustahce very hard and ripped it off.

* * *

><p>"How's the witness, Mr. Wright?" The judge asked.<p>

"Well, if you asked me, that had to hurt."

"He's under arrest." Payne said.

"Oh. Mr. Payne. I had forgotten you were here." _It seems like his presence is more lacking each time. _"Well, we can safely say that every suspicion against Mr. Stone have been cleared. This court finds the defedant, Tom Stone,

**NOT GUILTY**

**February 13, 2:00 PM**

**District Court- Defendant Lobby No.3**

"It seems we finally pulled it off." Phoenix said."Now it's time to talk about entrances and noodles."

"Despite your acquital, you don't look too happy, Mr. Stone." Athena said. _He looks as ghoulish as ever to me._

"I'm not worth to be a gravedigger." Stone said. _Now you'll have to swallow your pride and work as a notary._"I should have checked that coffin. Now Prosecutor Laws could never have a proper funeral. How's that poor soul supposed to rest in peace?"

"Well, we catch his killer." Apollo said. "Wouldn't that make for a rest in peace?"

"Boss, show Mr. Stone that he's a good gravedigger! And do it with evidence!" _What? Well, there should be something in the court record._

"TAKE THAT!"

"That's...the bouquet."

"Yes. When this bouquet was damaged, you spent several hours to make an appropiate substitute. I don't think there're lots of people who would do that just to please a client that's not going to complain anyway."

"Thanks." Stone said. "The Happy Ending Cemetery gates will always be open for you. Are you feeling healthy today?"

"Yes. Although that could change after some extra-salty Eldoon's noodles." Phoenix laughed. "You might have to dig a few graves later. Hahaha. Should we get going?"

"We'll catch you later." Athena said.

"As you want." _Kids._

* * *

><p>"So...what do you want to ask me?" Apollo said after Phoenix and Stone left.<p>

"What's this?" Athena asked, pulling out the card with the horribly drawn Apollo's face.

"Oh. That. I just used it as a bookmark to point out the missing pages in that book."

"But why do you have something like this?"

"It was Clay's." Apollo replied wistfully. "You know we used to yell "You're fine!" at each other when we were down for whatever reason, right?" Athena nodded. "Since he was supposed to go to space, we were going to be a few months without seeing or even speak to each other, so we decided to make this cards. I make that one for him and he make this for me." He pulled out another card with "You're fine" written on it and an even more horibly drawn Clay's face. "We thought that if we ever weren't feeling ok, then we would just need to look at the card and imagine the other shouting "You're fine" to be, well, fine. Pretty pathetic, uh? Needing something like that to cheer up...And also utterly ineffective, as things turned out..."

"Don't say that!" Athena shouted. "This card really helped me to calm down in the courtroom! It works!"

"Really?...You can keep it if you want."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I already have this one...And it's not like Clay is going to need it, so..."

"Apollo...Are you okay?"

"?"

"You've been acting weird ever after what happened to him."

"I'm fine."

"Apollo...You don't have to if you don't want to, but I've studied enough psychology to know that talking about it would help."

Apollo thought for a moment, then sighted and sat on a bench. "It's hard. Very hard."

"I know. And you don't have to endure it alone."

"I still can't even fully believe it. I mean, he was the kind of guy that always managed to get away of whatever mess he got himself into. It seemed impossible that one day...he couldn't do it."

"Did he use to get himself in trouble?"

"Yes. All the time."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So that was the end of the first case. How was it?**

**Funny fact: Laws' moustache only exists so he could rip it off in his breakdown.**


	6. Turnabout Fluke: Trial 1-1

Two men were arguing in an office. One of them was sitting behind a desk and the other was standing and facing him. The one behind the desk was bald, had blue eyes and wore a grey suit. The other man had dark brown eyes and scruffy black hair, and was wearing a blue jacket and a black visor.

"What do you want?" The bald man said.

"I've just won the jackpot."

"What jackpot?"

"The jackpot from the slot machines."

"That's impossible."

"What? But I even have proof." The man with the blue jacket said, pulling out a photo. "What do you have to say this?"

"Get out of my office!" The bald man said, grabbing a bottle that was on the desk and throwing it to the other man."

Then, a shot rang out and the bald man body appeared lying on the floor and covered in blood.

**January 2, 9:40 AM**

**District Court- Defendant Lobby No.5**

**POV: ?**

A woman with green eyes and golden,wavy, long hair entered the lobby. She was wearing a green pantsuit, a white shirt and a red tie.

"I'll get you an acquital, Mr. Terran.!" She said to the man in front of her.

"No need to be so formal." The man replied. He had dark brown eyes and scruffy black hair, and wore a blue overall, a blue jacket and a black visor. He also had a bandaid on his nose. "Call me Clay, and I'll call you...What was your name again? I'm terrible for this things."

"Clio. Clio Fair."

"Well, Clio...We'll be fine!" He shouted. _I think I'm going to need new eardrums._

"Of course you will!" Another man shouted, entering the lobby. He had brown eyes and brown hair with two spikes, and was wearing a red suit. "But I wish I could defend you. Couldn't you have waited a few more weeks before getting into this mess?"

"Don't worry, Pollo." Clay said, giving a thumb up. "I'll get into another mess after you pass the bar, promise."

"What are you doing here, Justice?" Clio asked. "Weren't you going with Mr. Gavin?"

"That's what I had planned." A man with blond hair and glasses and wearing a purple suit said, joining them. "But he insisted in coming to Mr. Terran's trial."

"Of course! I can't miss it. Clay is my best friend." Apollo said.

"Oh. So you're going to watch it from the gallery." Clio said.

"No. Today is still going to be my first day at the defense bench."

"What!?No!"

"Oh, come on, Clio." Kristoph said smiling. "Don't you find interesting the possibiliy of teaching someone what you know?" _Not really. _"It's like transfering him a bit of youself."

"But, chief, don't do I enough rookie-babysitting at the office already?"

"Don't worry, Clio, it'll be fine." Clay said. "It was Pollo who recommeded me the Gavin Law Offices." _Well, given that there's where he works, he probably was being utterly objective._

"If it's Justice who got us the client, I guess it's only fair that he gets to be at the bench." Kristoph said. "It'll be a good addition to his preparation for the bar exam."

"Don't make a face." Apollo said. "After all, What can go wrong when Justice is on your side?"

"So funny." Clio said undisturbed."You'd make a good clown. Even better than lawyer."

"You could at least wait until I pass the bar to call me an incompetent lawyer."

"If you'll excuse me, I also have a client to defend." Kristoph said. "And Clio, remember what I tell you about smiling. A smile always helps to earn people trust. Something fundamental in trials." _I'll trust more someone who I knew that was taking things seriously if I were on trial. _"So try to smile more often."

"Or smile ever, for that matter." Apollo said.

"Well, I guess we should enter the courtroom." Clio said after Kristoph left.

"No, we can't enter yet." Clay said.

"Right." Apollo said. "We need to do the Chord of Steels workout first." _Oh, please, no. Not that. And double this time._

"I'm Clay Terran and I'm fine!"

"I'm Apollo Justice and I'm fine!"

_I think I could sue them for breaking the noise regulation laws._

"Now's your turn, Clio!" Clay shouted.

"Excuse me? Could you repeat that louder? I didn't hear you." Clio said.

"I was saying that it's your turn!" Clay shouted louder.

"I think she was trying to be sarcastic, Clay." Apollo said.

"Oh. Really? I thought she had a hearing problem or something." _Well, I have one now. _"But it's still your turn to shout 'I'm fine'."

"Why do I need to shout it?"

"To ensure yourself that everything will be fine."

"We can skip it ,then." Clio said. "Because I don't have a single doubt that I'm going to get you off the hook!"

"That's the attitude!" Clay said, giving a thumb up. "But it would have worked better with a smile."

"Please, come in." A Bailiff said.

_My name is Clio Fair. I've been a defense attorney for three years now. And I've never lost a case. And today...it's not going to be different._

**January 2, 10:00 AM**

**District Court- Courtroom No.4**

"The court is now in session for the trial of Clay Terran." The judge banged his gavel.

"The defense is ready, Your Honor." Clio said.

"The prosecution is also ready." The prosecutor said. He was wearing a black suit, a red tie and sunglasses and his hair was shaped in a bang to the front to cover his baldness. "I don't think we've met before. Are you maybe a rookie? I'll have you know that I'm known as the Rookie Humiliator. You're still in time to flee with the tail between your legs."

"Well, I'm not a rookie, so you'll have to settle with humiliating this guy." Clio said, pointing to Apollo."But I'm terrified anyways. That sounds like something only a very competent man would boast about."

"Then maybe it's time for me to earn the name of 'Veteran Humiliator'." The prosecutor said. "Gaspen Payne, the Veteran Humiliator. I like the sound of it."

"Not sure about that. I mean, I've been lawyering for three years. That's enough to not be a rookie, but it's nowhere close to be a veteran."

"Oh." Payne said. "Then I guess it'll have to be just the Humiliator." _The Himself Humiliator would suit you._

"If the prosecution and the defense are done befriending, I'd like to hear the opening statement." The judge said.

"Of Course, Your Honor." Payne said. "Mr. Parker Seith, the owner of the Royal Casino, was murdered on January First in his very office at the casino."

"Poor guy, dying just in new year." Apollo commented.

"At least he could enjoy the holidays." Clay chimed in. "It would be worse to die just before christmas."

"Yeah, that'd suck."

"The defense attempts to distract me are pointless." Payne said. "Because the defendant's guilt is beyond question."

"That's for the court to decide." The judge said. "Please, continue the statement."

"The victim was shot to death with his own gun. I'd like to present the autopsy report and the gun as evidence. And while we're at it, the casino plans and a photo of the crime scene."

"The court accept them into the record."

**Casino plans added to the Court Record**

(The Royal Casino has two parts. The casino itself is a huge room on the left, and on the right there is a hallway and the offices, various smaller rooms. The one on the top of the plans is the victim's office.)

**Photo of the crime added to the Court Record**

(The photo pictured the body of a bald man lying on the floor and soaked in a pool of blood, next to a desk and a chair. On the desk there are a bunch of messy papers, a phone and an ashtray full of cigars.)

**Autopsy report added to the Court Record**

(Victim:Parker Seith. Cause of death:Loss of blood due to a single gunshot. Time of death: Between 3AM and 5AM on January First. Victim probably was alive for a while after being shot.)

**Gun added to the Court Record**

(The murder weapon. It's registered to the victim. It only has the victim fingerprints on it.)

"That gun...I'd like to examine it thoroughly." Clio said.

"Yeah." Apollo agreed."What's that thing on the end of the barrel?"

"It's a detachable sound suppressor." Clio explained. "A bit excessive for a personal defense gun. And also a bit illegal. Do we know why the victim had something like this?"

"Yes." Payne said. "The victim was not only the owner of the Royal Casino, but also an active member of a criminal syndicate."

"The victim was a gangster!?" The judge asked, surprised.

"Right." Payne said. "But not even that stopped the defendant. He's obviously a dangerous psychopath who knows no fear!"

"What do you have to say to that, Mr. Terran?" The judge asked.

"I like the sound of "knows no fear". Clay replied.

"Clay!" Apollo shouted.

"Don't get so worked up." Clay gave a thumb up. "I was just kidding."

"We'll see if you're still in the mood for joking when I'm done with you." Payne said. "You're all going to see why I'm labeled the Defendant Humiliator."

"It's that a new-fashioned way of calling someone to the stand?" The judge asked.

"Yes, Your Honor." Payne replied. "Defendant, take the stand and state your name and occupation."

"Clay Terran. Ace astronaut."

"OBJECTION!" Apollo yelled, pointing out his finger.

"What the heck are you doing, Justice?" Clio asked, grimacing.

"Did I look like Phoenix Wright or what?" He said, scracthing his head.

Clio slammed the desk with both fist. "Objections are a vey serious thing! The're not to play! You can only use them when you have a problem with someone's statements!"

"A problem with someone's statemente, huh? But I have one." Apollo said. "Clay, you just called yourself a astronaut, but technically, you won't be an actual astronaut until you go to space."

The coutroom muted. "I meant a relevant problem. I thought it was implicit." Clio said. "Is this what they call second-hand embarassment? I knew it was going to happen."

"But Phoenix Wright always made a big deal out of the smallest of contradictions." Apollo said. "This could be the gap we need to turn around the case."

"C'mon, Pollo." Clay said. "You call yourself a lawyer even if you have yet to pass the bar, and you won't see me complaining."

"You're just pissed off because I'm going to win our bet."

"What bet?" The judge asked.

"A bet we make back in school." Apollo explained. "The first one to achieve his dream wins. Mine is being a lawyer and Clay's is going to space."

"So you're the ambitious one, I see." Clio commented.

"And what's at stake in that little bet?" The judge asked.

"The right to show off for the rest of our lifes." Clay said.

"Just that?" Payne asked.

"Well, a lifetime is quite a lot of time." Clay replied.

"So then, are you an astronaut or not?" The judge asked.

"Of course I am!" Clay punched the stand. "Listen, everybody! I'm going to space and nothing's stopping me! Nothing, I tell you!"

"Woah. He snapped." Clio said.

"Yeah." Apollo said. "Usually he's very laid back and everything, but when it comes to his job is... Well, serious business." _Shouldn't the job be serious business by default?_

"I can see the fire in your eyes, too, Clio!" Clay said. _What? _"Trials...are serious business for you, aren't they?" _Again, aren't trials serious business by default? Especially for the defendant._

"Defendant, stop trying to delay your guilty verdict and testify about what you did the night of the crime." Payne said.

"I'll try my best!" He clenched his fist in determination. "I'm fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine!"

**Witness Testimony**

**-The Night of the Crime-**

**"We went to the new year party at the casino at about 9PM.**

**People started to left after 12AM and the party got pretty boring.**

**So I gave a try to the slot machines and I got the jackpot.**

**I tried to claim my prize, but it didn't go very well."**

"That's it?" Payne said. " I see that you've deliberately skipped the part were you killed the victim."

"Pfft." Clio shook her head. "Were you really expecting him to testify that? "I guess that you're really more of a loser than even this dork beside me."

"Hey!" Apollo complained. "Why have the joke to be always on me!?"

"It's your hair. Obviously."

"It's not that weird! Right, Clay?"

"I plead the fifth!" Clay replied.

"No objections from the prosecution." Payne said,

"This court find Mr. Justice's hair guilty." The judge banged his gavel.

"You all are a bunch of jerks." Apollo made a face. "Well, I'm not changing my hairstyle."

"And thus, your destiny is sealed." Clio said.

"Is anyone going to cross-examine me!?" Clay asked. "C'mon, ask away! Don't save anything! It's fine!"

"Oh, the passion of the youth! I feel so alive!" The judge said. "You may cross-examine the witness!"

"It seems Clay's heat has affected the judge." Clio commented.

"Yeah." Apollo said. "If you ever need an energy boost, Clay is your man."

_Actually, I'm quite pumped up right now. Want to do this the passionate way, Clay? Good, because that the only way I know._

"By the way." Apollo added. "If you get stuck, you can consult with me. Even if this is my first time at the defense bench, I've watched lots of trials from the gallery and also lots of old trials recordings."

"I'll keep it in mind. But, unless you have a magic lie-detector, I doubt you're going to be of any use."

**Cross-Examination**

**-The Night of the Crime-**

**"We went to the new year party at the casino at about 9PM.**

"HOLD IT!" Clio shouted. "Who's we?"

"Me and Pollo, of course." Clay replied.

"Justice was there too?" Clio massaged her temple in thought.

"Wait. You're not thinking of accusing your own coworker, are you!?" Apollo said. "That's mean!"

"Your little imp minion has an alibi, I'm afraid." Payne said. "There's a security camera on the casino's entrance. He appears in the footage, lefting long before the crime. The defendant also appears but he's the second to last to left, and at 6AM, after the crime."

**Security footage added to the Court Record.**

(Clay is the second person to last to left, at 6AM.)

"Too good to be true." Clio muttered.

"I'm starting to think that you don't like having me here." Apollo said.

"How can you think that?" Clio said. "I'd be so lost and desperate without you."

"You should keep that sarcasm to yourself. You could hurt people's feelings." _But what's the point of making snarky comments if nobody can hear them?_

"Please, go on with your testimony." The judge said.

**People started to left after 12AM and the party got pretty boring.**

"HOLD IT! How many people left?"

"Almost everybody. Even the employees. I was almost alone at the end."

"Wasn't Justice with you?"

"Just look at that footage. He left at about 1AM." Clay said."Way to leave your best buddy in the lurch."

"Studying for the Bar Exam." Apollo said. "Means that anything for you?"

"And I was thinking that you were the life of the party." Clio said.

"Please, go on before everybody starts to pick on me again." Apollo said.

**So I gave a try to the slot machines and I got the jackpot.**

"HOLD IT! You got the jackpot at the first try?"

"What can I say? I'm a lucky guy. Not like Mr. Jinx over there." Clay said, pointing to Apollo.

"OBJECTION!" Payne shouted. "A cheater is what you are!"

"OBJECTION!" Clio slammed the desk with both fist. "I've had enough of your rubbish! I'm not going to tolerate more baseless accusations against my client!"

"They're not baseless." Payne said. "A casino employee has conffessed that the slot machines are rigged. It's impossible to win a single prize, let alone the jackpot."

**Rigged slot machines added to the court record.**

(It's impossible to win.)

"But then, it's the victim who's a cheater!" Apollo said.

"That was unexpected." Clio said. "Gangster are usually so legit."

"Yes, the victim was a cheater." Payne said. "But the defendant have just lied to this court. It was impossible for him, or anyone, to win at the slot machines."

"But I have proof." Clay said, pulling out a photo.

**Photo of the jackpot added to the court record.**

(The photo shows a slot machine with a star on each slot. Taken at 4:30AM.)

"Three stars means jackpot?" Clio asked.

"They aren't stars." Clay said. "Stars are huge burning balls. But these five-pointed things are the jackpot, yes."

"And what did you do then, the judge asked?"

**I tried to claim my prize, but it didn't go very well."**

"HOLD IT! What do you mean by "it didn't go very well"?

"Isn't it obvious?" Payne said. "He ended up killing the victim!"

"OBJECTION!" Clio yelled. "There's no proof that my client meet the victim that night!"

"But I did." Clay said.

"What!?" Clio shouted, as her eye started twitching and she adjusted her tie nervously. "Why didn't you tell me that earlier!?"

"I told you that I tried to claim the prize, didn't I?"

"But there aren't employees in charge of that?"

"They had the day off for new year and left during the party." Clay explained. "I had to claim the prize to the very owner of the casino."

"And then was when you kill him!" Payne said.

"No. Claiming the prize was all I did."

"For the record, how much money are we talking about here?" The judge asked.

"The jackpot?" Clay said. "I think it was twenty thousand dollars."

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?"

The gallery burst into chatter.

* * *

><p><strong>Court record:<strong>

**Profiles:**

**Clay Terran **(Male; 21): The defendant. An aspiring astronaut. He's too loud.

**Apollo Justice **(Male; 21): My junior co-worker. He's going to take the bar exam soon. He's too loud.

**Kristoph Gavin **(Male; 31): My employer. He's the best lawyer ever.

**Gaspen Payne **(Male; 53): The prosecutor for this case. He's plain idiot.

**Parker ****Seith**(Male; 40): The victim. He was the owner of the Royal Casino and also a gangster.

**Evidence:**

**Attorney's badge: **The treasure of every attorney. I polish it every day.

**Casino plans: **The Royal Casino has two parts. The casino itself is a huge room on the left, and on the right there is a hallway and the offices, various smaller rooms. The one on the top of the plans is the victim's office.

**Photo of the crime: **The photo pictures the body of a bald man lying on the floor and soaked in a pool of blood, next to a desk and a chair. On the desk there are a bunch of messy papers, a phone and an ashtray full of cigars.

**Autopsy report: **Victim:Parker Seith. Cause of death:Loss of blood due to a single gunshot. Time of death: Between 3AM and 5AM on January First. Victim probably was alive for a while after being shot.

**Gun: **The murder weapon. It's registered to the victim. It has a detachable sound suppressor. It only has the victim fingerprints on it.

**Security footage: **Clay is the second person to last to left, at 6AM.

**Rigged slot machines: **It's impossible to win.

**Photo of the jackpot: **The photo shows a slot machine with a star on each slot. Taken at 4:30AM.


	7. Turnabout Fluke: Trial 1-2

**A/N: Answering the reviews, yes, this is supposed to be a flashback case.**

* * *

><p>"T-t-t-twenty thousand dollards?" The judge repeated in disbelief.<p>

"Clay, that's a lot of money!" Apollo said.

"You've learnt how to count." Clio said. "I'm so proud."

"And where's that money know?" The judge asked.

"I don't know." Clay said. "He refused to give it to me."

"That's a huge motive for murder." Payne said.

"It's just money."

"Please, testify regarding your confrontation with the victim." The judge said.

"Fine!"

**Witness Testimony**

**-Confrontation with the victim-**

**"After getting the jackpot, I went to the victim's office to claim my price.**

**He didn't believe me, so I showed him the proof.**

**But he got mad and throw me a bottle. It broke my nose.**

**And that was all."**

"So that's how you broke your nose this time." Apollo said.

"This time?"

"Yeah. That nose it's more time broken than it's fine."

"Hey! My nose is fine even when it's broken." Clay said.

"It seems our victim had a case of bad temperament." The judge said. " You may cross-examine the witness."

**Cross-Examination**

**-Confrontation with the Victim-**

**"After getting the jackpot, I went to the victim's office to claim my price.**

**He didn't believe me, so I showed him the proof.**

**But he got mad and threw me a bottle. It broke my nose.**

**And that was all."**

"HOLD IT!" Clio shouted. "That was all?"

"Yeah, that was all." Clay replied. "After he threw me that bottle, I left the office."

"OBJECTION!" Payne shouted. "Do you expect us to swallow that after that guy refused to give you your money and attacked you, you just left and let it be?"

"You're not going to last long with that attitude." Clay said. "That guy had a freaking gun on his desk. And when a mad guy with a gun tell you to get out of his office, you get out of his office."

"But what about the twenty thousand dollars?" The judge asked.

"They're not worth my life. When I die, it'll be doing something important and not in some random fight in a casino."

"Are you sure about that?" Apollo asked. "I mean, I'd rather die grey and old and quietly in my bed better than at some big event."

"You're not going to appear in history books with that attitude."

"You sound like Cosmos." Apollo said. "Yuri Cosmos is the director of the Space Center." He explained to Clio." _Please tell me more. Don't take the fact that I haven't asked for a complete lack of interest on my part. _"And he's always talking about appearing in history books."

"What did you do after that, Clay?" Clio asked

"Nothing. I just went home."

"So you left the casino right after talking with the victim?"

"Yes."

"What time was it?"

"6AM, according to the security footage." Payne said.

"Can you amend your testimony to include that?"

"Fine!" _There's something wrong here. The question is why?_

**I went home inmediately after that, at 6AM.**

"OBJECTION!" Clio shouted "That's a lie."

"What!?"

"Just look at your own proof. You took this photo of the jackpot at 4:30 AM, and then you went to the victim's office. After a short confrontation, you went home inmediatley. That's not nowhere enough to fill the hour and half gap from the moment you took the photo and the moment you left the casino!"

"Ooops!" Clay said.

"Were you lying to this court, Mr. Terran?" The judge asked.

"No, I just misremembered it." Clay said, giving a thumb up. _If they gave me a penny for each time I've heard that sentence... _"I'll amend my testimony."

**I was wandering alone at the casino for a while before leaving.**

"OBJECTION!" Clio shouted, slamming the desk. "Stop lying to my face, Clay!"

"Lie? What lie? I don't know anything about a lie."

"According to the security footage, you were the second to last to left. That means that there was another person there who left after you did."

"A young lady, to be precise." Payne said. "The one who called the police."

"Oh. Really? There was girl there? I didn't see her." Clay said.

"That's not going to wash!" Clio said. "I don't think it's possible that you didn't see her. TAKE THAT! Just look at the casino plans. The casino is a huge room, but just a room. If you two were the only ones there, you would have noticed each other sooner or later."

"Fiiiiiiiiiiine!" Clay shouted. "I admit it. I saw her."

"You did it, Clio!" Apollo said. "You exposed his lies, just like Phoenix Wright!"

"That guy is not all the cool you think he is." Clio said.

"Wait. Do you know Phoenix Wright?"

"No." _If I tell him, he'll be asking me about it forever._

"What did the two of you do to be worth the lie?" The judge asked.

"Nothing evil, really." Clay said, scratching his head. " We were talking for a while and then we kind of...made out. A bit."

"Clay!" Apollo said.

"What? Can't two lonely souls have a bit of fun in new year." Clay replied. "It was just kissing. Kissing passionately, but just that."

"You'll have to settle down at some point." Apollo said.

"Says Apollo 'I've never kissed a girl' Justice."

The gallery burst into chatter.

"The court it's not to gossip about me, Clay!" Apollo said, grimacing.

"This court doesn't mind gossiping about Mr. Justice non-existent love life." The judge said.

"If the court is recovered after this unexpected and earth-shattering revelation, I'd like to continue with the cross-examination." Clio said. "Were you lying just because you were embarrased? That's a pretty weak motive for perjury." _Not the worst I've seen, though._

"No, I was lying because she told me that she had a boyfriend and I don't want to get broken any more parts of my body."

"Clay! That's not fine!" Apollo said.

"I didn't know, I swear!" Clay said. "And I quit the moment she told me! Look at the footage! Don't I look pissed off?"

"If you say so. But you seem too fine to me." _There are more adjectives, you know._

"Putting affairs aside, if this girl was there the moment of the crime, she could be a witness, or even a suspect." Clio said. "I'd like to call her to the stand."

"As usual, I'm ten steps ahead of you." Payne said. "This charming lady happens to be the prosecution's decisive witness. I was about to call her."

"Do it, then."

A young woman took the stand. She had blue eyes and brown hair in a long ponytail. She wore blue jeans and a purple jacket over a yellow T-shirt, and had her hands in her pockets. She pulled out a coin without moving her arms and started kicking it like a soccer ball. _Freak alert activated._

"Witness, state your name and occupation, please." Payne said.

"Head or tails?" She asked.

"Huh...Head?"

The witness kicked the coin up, let it flip in the air and catched it on her thigh. "It's tails. Bad luck. See you." She left the stand.

"You're not going anywhere!" Clio said, slamming the desk with both fist. "Or I'll get you arrested for obstruction of justice."

"Well, she didn't do anything to me." Apollo said.

"I'll pretend that I haven't heard that."

"Whatever, snooty lawyer." The witness said, coming back to the stand. "My name is Winny Strick. I'm a gambler."

"Can that even be considered an occupation?" Clio commented.

"It is if it pay your bills." Strick said, starting to kick the coin again.

"So, just to be clear, it's true that you made out with the defendant that night?"

"Jealous, snooty lawyer?"

"And that you have a boyfriend?"

"Jealous, snooty lawyer?"

"I'm astonished by your strong sense of loyalty."

"Can't two single souls have a bit of fun in new year?"

"But that's a contradiction. You're not single if you have a boyfriend."

"What would know an outdated old lady about the passion of the youth?"

"I'm just 26!"

"Did you just put 26 and just in the same sentence? Who's contradictory know?"

"Are you going to testify or not?" Clio slammed the desk.

Strick flipped a coin with her leg. "Yes. I'll start where the defendant left."

**Witness Testimony**

**-Night of the Crime II-**

**"After the fun, Clay told me that he needed to take care of something. **

**Then he went to the offices.**

**After a while, I heard a gunshot and ran to there.**

**Clay came out of the victim's office, pushed me and ran away.**

**I entered and found the victim's body in a pool of blood on the floor.**

**Then I called the police."**

"So you didn't actually see the crime?" The judge asked.

"No." Strick flipped a coin. "But I just had to put two and two together."

"OBJECTION!" Clio shouted, banging the desk. "There's no evidence to deem this testimony more reliable than the defendant's!"

"But there's." Payne said, moving his hand. "We have undeniable evidence to support Ms. Strick testimony."

"Undeniable?" Clio said. "That's for me to decide."

"Actually, that's for me to decide." The judge said.

"This is the jacket that the witness was wearing the day of the crime." Payne explained. "On the right shoulder, we've found traces of gunpowder and upon them, the defendant fingerprints!"

"What!?" Clio adjusted her tie and her eye started twitching.

The gallery burst into chatter.

* * *

><p><strong>Court record:<strong>

**Profiles:**

**Clay Terran **(Male; 21): The defendant. An aspiring astronaut. He's too loud.

**Apollo Justice **(Male; 21): My junior co-worker. He's going to take the bar exam soon. He's too loud.

**Kristoph Gavin **(Male; 31): My employer. He's the best lawyer ever.

**Gaspen Payne **(Male; 53): The prosecutor for this case. He's plain idiot.

**Parker****Seith**(Male; 40): The victim. He was the owner of the Royal Casino and also a ganster.

**Winny Strick **(Female; 21): A gambler who was in the casino the night of the crime. She was the one who called the police.

**Evidence:**

**Attorney's badge: **The treasure of every attorney. I polish it every day.

**Casino plans: **The Royal Casino has two parts. The casino itself is a huge room on the left, and on the right there are the offices, various smaller rooms. The one on the top of the plan is the victim's office.

**Photo of the crime: **The photo pictured the body of a bald man lying on the floor and soaked in a pool of blood, next to a desk and a chair. On the desk there are a bunch of messy papers, a phone and a ashtray full of cigars.

**Autopsy report: **Victim:Parker Seith. Cause of death:Loss of blood due to a single gunshot. Time of death: Between 3AM and 5AM on January First. Victim probably was alive for a while after being shot.

**Gun: **The murder weapon. It's registered to the victim. It has a detachable sound suppressor. It only has the victim fingerprints on it.

**Security footage: **Clay is the second person to last to left, at 6AM.

**Rigged slot machines: **It's impossible to win.

**Photo of the jackpot: **The photo shows a slot machine with a star on each slot. Taken at 4:30AM.


	8. Turnabout Fluke: Trial 1-3

**Strick's jacket added to the Court Record.**

(It has traces of gunpowder and Clay's fingerprints on the right shoulder.)

"He obvioulsy left them there when he pushed Ms. Strick right after shooting the victim. This dispells any doubt on Ms. Strick testimony." Payne said.

"Again, that's for me to decide!" Clio slammed the desk with both fists.

"And again, it's actually for me to decide." The judge said. "You may cross-examine the witness."

**Cross-Examination**

**-Night of the Crime II-**

**"After the fun, Clay told me that he needed to take care of something. **

**Then he went to the offices.**

**After a while, I heard a gunshot and ran to there.**

"OBJECTION!" Clio shouted. "Are you sure that you heard a gunshot?"

Strick flipped a coin. "Yes."

"Wrong!" Clio slammed the desk. "Because you didn't heard the gunshot."

"Really? But it came up tails."

"The truth is what it is. You can't change it flipping a coin!" Clio said. "The gun had attached a sound suppresor! Nobody could have heard the gunshot!"

"ARGGGGGGGHHHHHH!" Strick kicked the coin very hard and it got embedded in the ceiling.

"What's the meaning of this, Ms. Strick?" The judge said.

"I...well...just..." Strick sttutered. "Do you know when you have a fuzzy memory and your brain just fill the gaps? That's what happened. I knew that there was a gunshot, so I thought that I had heard it."

"That make sense." The judge said. "Is the defense willing to accept it?"

"Of course not, Your Honor!" Clio shouted. "Because if she didn't heard the gunshot, then an even bigger contradiction appears in the testimony."

"And what would that be?"

"Simple. Ms. Strick testified that she went to the offices because she heard the gunshot. But if she didn't hear it, why was she there in the first place?"

"Do you have an explanation for this, Ms. Strick?" The judge asked.

Strick flipped a coin. "Yes."

"Don't decide it randomly!" Clio slammed the desk. "It's a person live what we're talking about here."

"So what?" Strick said. "Bets are boring if stakes aren't high. That's why Russian Roulette is so much fun."

"R-R-R-Russian Roulette?" The judge sttutered.

"We can play later, if you want. Want to join us, snooty lawyer? Or you haven't the guts for it?"

"The guts for dying stupidly, you mean?" Clio said.

"This girl is starting to scare me." Apollo said. "Clay should watch out who he make out with."

"We all know that you're expert in that matter, Justice. Stop trying to show off. It's uncool."

"I think we should proceed to the testimony." The judge said.

Strick flipped a coin. "I agree."

**Witness Testimony**

**-Why I went to the offices-**

**"When Clay told me that he wanted to take care of something, I knew what he meant.**

**I had seen him getting the jackpot earlier.**

**I supposed that he was going to claim the prize.**

**And I knew the victim wasn't going to take it well.**

**So I followed Clay to try to avoid the disaster.**

**But it was too late."**

"So you thought from the begining that something bad was going to happen?" The judge asked.

"Yeah." Strick replied. "But to be honest, I thought that Clay was going to be the dead one. I guess he has a dangerous side. That makes him all the more attractive."

"I don't understand girls these days." The judge said, shaking his head.

"Nor I do, Your Honor." Apollo said. _That makes three of us, then._

"You may cross-examine the witness."

**Witness Testimony**

**-Why I went to the offices-**

**"When Clay told me that he wanted to take care of something, I knew what he meant.**

**I had seen him getting the jackpot earlier.**

**I supposed that he was going to claim the prize.**

**And I knew the victim wasn't going to take it well.**

"HOLD IT!" Clio shouted. "You knew? How come that?"

"I'm a regular customer at the casino." Strick replied. "I knew the victim. And he was a very sore loser. He always got furious when someone won at the slot machines." _What?_

"Can you add that to your testimony?"

"Head or tails?"

"Tails!" Apollo shouted.

"Then I'm going with head." Clio said.

Strick flipped the coin. "Head. Well played."

"That always works." Clay commented.

**He always got furious when someone won at the slot machines.**

"OBJECTION!" Clio slammed the desk. "I don't think so."

"What do you mean?"

"The slot machines were rigged! Nobody coul have won the jackpot!"

"What? I didn't knew."

"Don't play dumb! As a regular costumer, you had to notice that no one never won at the slot machines!"

"ARGHH!" Strick kicked the coin hard and embedded it in the ceiling again.

"What do you have to say to this, Ms. Strick?"

Strick pulled out another coin and flipped it. "Nothing. I want to remain silent."

"She's pleading the fifth?" Apollo said. "She must be hiding something."

"And on another breaking news, the sun today rose in the east." Clio said. _Let's think about it. Whatever she's hiding is about the slot machines. She surely knew that there was something wrong with them, and yet, she didn't found strange that Clat got the jackpot. That has to be because..._"I know what you're hiding, Ms. Strick."

"I don't know what are you talking about."

Clio slammed the desk. "You rigged the slot machines!"

"!"

"What!?" The judge asked in shock. "Wasn't the victim who rigged them?"

"Yes, Your Honor." Clio explained. "The victim rigged the slot machines so noboy could win, and then, Ms. Strick rigged them again so she could get the jackpot at the first try! That's why she wasn't surprised when Clay won!"

"AAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Strick embedded another coin in the ceiling.

"She was trying to cheat the cheater?" The judge asked, with his eyes opened in shock. "Do you admit it, Ms. Strick?"

Strick flipped a coin. "Yeah, I admit it. I rigged one of the slot machines."

"But why?"

"I have gambling debts." _Who could have seen that one coming?. _"I owe the owner of the casino a lot of money. My plan was to get the jackpot during the party and then fix the machine back to be impossible to win. But Clay had to choose that slot machine among all of them and screw it all."

"That didn't prevent you from making out with him."

"I'm not one to hold a grudge." Strick said, kicking the coin.

"Do you think this new information is relevant to the case, Ms. Fair?" The judge said.

"Of course it is!" Clio said. "Because it gives the witness a motive for murder!"

"A motive? What motive would that be?"

"TAKE THAT!"

"That's...the victim."

"Exactly." Clio said. "Let's review what we know about the victim. He was a bad-tempered gangster who always had a gun with him and apparently lacked any kind of morality. Possibly the worst person you could owe money to, don't you think?"

"He doesn't sound very understanding, that's for sure."

"That's why you cheated to get the jackpot. You were afraid of what would happen if you couldn't pay him."

"I guess it would be pointless to try to hide it know. That debts were dangerous. But now that he's dead, I guess they're all condonned. It's kind of relieving, actually."

"And that's why you killed him."

"Don't get too carried away." Strick said, kickin the coin. "Yes, I have a motive. But also does Clay. And the evidence points to him, not me. I'm not anywhere near as suspicous as him."

_Let me doubt it. If only I coul know what else she did that night. Wait. Maybe there's something. _"Coul we check the security footage again?"

"What exactly do you want to wacth?"

"I'd like to watch the part where Ms. Strick left. She was the last person on the footage, wasn't she."

"Yes." Payne said. "She left short after the defendant, at 6:15AM. Let's play that part."

The footage showed Strick running out the door of the casino.

"Well, Ms. Fair?" The judge said. "It's something wrong in this footage?"

"Actually, why are you running, Ms. Strick?"

"There's nothing suspicious about that. I had just discovered a body and I needed a phone box to call the police as soon as possible. It was natural for me to run." _That's it. I got her._

"I don't think you needed to run to call the police! TAKE THAT! Look at this photo of the crime scene. There's a phone on the very desk of the victim! Why didn't you use that one!?"

"AGGGGH!" Strick embedded another coin on the ceiling.

"I'll tell you why! You killed the victim and then staged this scene and called the police to keep the suspicion away from you and pin it on Clay!"

Strick flipped a coin. "Then I guess I'll tell you why I din't need to do anything to keep the suspicion away from me." She pulled out her hands from her pocket. Both of them were bandaged."I got my hands burnt in a kitchen accident in christmas. It had been impossible for me to fire a gun."

"What!?" Clio said, adjusting her tie nervously and with her eye twitching.

The gallery burst into chatter.

* * *

><p><strong>Court record:<strong>

**Profiles:**

**Clay Terran **(Male; 21): The defendant. An aspiring astronaut. He's too loud.

**Apollo Justice **(Male; 21): My junior co-worker. He's going to take the bar exam soon. He's too loud.

**Kristoph Gavin **(Male; 31): My employer. He's the best lawyer ever.

**Gaspen Payne **(Male; 53): The prosecutor for this case. He's plain idiot.

**Parker****Seith**(Male; 40): The victim. He was the owner of the Royal Casino and also a ganster.

**Winny Strick **(Female; 21): A gambler who was in the casino the night of the crime. She was the one who called the police.

**Evidence:**

**Attorney's badge: **The treasure of every attorney. I polish it every day.

**Casino plans: **The Royal Casino has two parts. The casino itself is a huge room on the left, and on the right there are the offices, various smaller rooms. The one on the top of the plan is the victim's office.

**Photo of the crime: **The photo pictured the body of a bald man lying on the floor and soaked in a pool of blood, next to a desk and a chair. On the desk there are a bunch of messy papers, a phone and a ashtray full of cigars.

**Autopsy report: **Victim:Parker Seith. Cause of death:Loss of blood due to a single gunshot. Time of death: Between 3AM and 5AM on January First. Victim probably was alive for a while after being shot.

**Gun: **The murder weapon. It's registered to the victim. It has a detachable sound suppressor. It only has the victim fingerprints on it.

**Security footage: **Clay is the second person to last to left, at 6AM.

**Rigged slot machines: **It's impossible to win.

**Photo of the jackpot: **The photo shows a slot machine with a star on each slot. Taken at 4:30AM.

**Strick's jacket: **It has traces of gunpowder and Clay's fingerprints on the right shoulder.


	9. Turnabout Fluke: Trial 1-4

"I have a medical certificate to proof that the witness is telling the truth." Payne said. "Why do you think that the prosecution never deemed her a suspect?"

"This is not going very fine" Apollo said.

"No, Justice, is going great." Clio said. "It's just that I lost my main suspect and my case got screwed."

"And don't even think of a suicide, because there weren't burn marks on the victim." Payne said. "Only the defendant could have commited this crime."

"And it keeps getting better."

"You know, in times like that, Phoenix Wright would..." Apollo started to say.

"Bluff? Grasp at straws?"

"No! Think outside the box! Turns things around!"

"Actually, that could work."

**Revisualization**

_First, I should review what I know. Clay had a confrontation with the victim, but he was alive when he left after he threw him a bottle. Then he met Ms. Strick and they made out. Someone had to shoot the gun, but it couldn't have been Strick or the victim. There's also that jacket with gunpowder and Clay's fingerprints that points to him. What should I begin with? The jacket is the most incriminating evicende, so I guess I'll start with it. __**There has to be something wrong with that jacket. **__The most problematic thing of it are Clay's fingerprints. If Strick is lying, then when he could have left them there? Of course! __**He left them when they were making out. **__But then, where did that gunpowder come from? Well, gunpowder is always near where a gun is fired, so __**The gun was near Strick's shoulder when it was fired. **__That means she was at the scene of the crime at the moment of the crime, so she fired the gun with her shoulder? No, that's impossible. She coulddn't have fired the gun. Neither could have the victim. And if it wasn't Clay, and there was nobody else there, then __**It fired by itself? **__Is that even possible? I've heard before of guns accidentally firing after a hard blow, but...wait. Didn't the victim have the nasty habit of throwing people whatever his hand could reach whenever he got mad? And if Strick told him that she couldn't pay, then he would have got mad for sure. And didn't Clay testify that he had his gun on the desk? Then, what if..._

**THE GUN WAS FIRED BY ACCIDENT WHEN THE VICTIM THREW IT AT STRICK.**

"I know what happened!" Clio slammed the desk.

"Enlighten us, then" Strick said.

"Ms. Strick, the day of the crime, you met the victim in his office to tell him that you couldn't pay your debts. Then he got mad and throw you the first thing he could get, his gun! When it hit you on your right shuolder, it fired by accident, and unfortunately for the vicitm, the bullet ended up inside him!"

"ARGH!" Strick start to pull out coin after coin, kick them and embed them on the ceiling.

"OBJECTION!" Payne shouted. "What kind of utter nonsense is that? If the victim death was indeed an accident, why would the witness lie in the first place?"

"The answer is in the Court Record. TAKE THAT!" Clio shouted, slamming the desk. "Look at the autopsy report: 'Victim probably was alive for a while after being shot. Mr. Seith's didn't die on the spot, but Ms. Strick wanted him dead, so she left him there, drowning in his own blood, and used her feminine wiles to distract the defendant, the only other person in the casino at that moment, and make sure that he didn't notice that there was a man dying in his office. Then he got rid of him by telling him that she had a boyfriend, and only when she was sure that the victim was dead, she called the police and tried to pin the crime on Clay."

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK." Payne flinched

"It looks like you just humilliate the humilliator." Apollo said.

"What a striking plot twist." Clio said.

"Not so fast!" Strick shouted without stopping embedding coins in the ceiling. "That's a really cool story, but do you actually have any proof?"

"Of course I have!" Clio shouted, pointing out her finger. "The very proof you gave us, indeed. TAKE THAT! Your jacket! I'm sure that we could find Clay's fingerprints all over it and not only on the shoulder, proving that he didn't leave the gunpowder there. Therefore, it had to get on you when the gun hit you! You lose this time, Ms. Strick!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! No! I can't lose! You have to be cheating! Just like that scumbag! It served him right! If you're stupid enough to throw around a loaded and unlocked gun, then it's just the right thing that you pay the consequences, isn't it!?" She kicked a coin very hard and it hit the ceiling, but instead of getting embeded in it, it cause all the others to start falling, releasing a rain of coins upon her. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

* * *

><p>"How's the witness, Mr. Payne?" The judge asked.<p>

"She's under arrest for obstruction of justice and non-assistance to a person in need." Payne said. "Apparently she wants her sentece to be decided by flipping a coin."

"The ceiling...is not going to fall down, is it?" Apollo asked afraid.

"Don't worry Mr. Justice. This courtroom is very tough. Nothing less than a bomb could make it collapse." The judge said. "I guess there's no reason to delay the verdict. This court find the defendant, Clay Terran...

**NOT GUILTY.**

* * *

><p><strong>January 2, 1:00 PM<strong>

**District Court- Defendant Lobby No.5**

"You were great there, Clio!" Apollo said. "It has been like being in one of Phoenix Wright's trials!"

"Why can't you be a fan of the Gavinners, like all kids these days?" Clio said.

"What's a gavinner?"

"How can you don't know? They're everywhere. It's impossible to avoid them, unless you live on the moon or something. Wait. That makes a lot of sense. You are out there, your best friend is an astronaut and you have those weird antennae...You're an alien, aren't you?"

"Clay, tell her that I'm not alien!"

"You know, maybe I should drop this astronaut thing." Clay said.

"What!?"

"Getting into this mess just in new year...The tests for the HAT-2 mission are this year. Maybe is a sign and I shouldn't take them."

"What the heck are you saying?" Apollo said. "Clio, help me with this!"

"Why me?"

"Show him that what the world it's signaling it's not to give up!."

"TAKE THAT!"

"That's the photo I took." Clay said.

"Yeah. You got the jackpot in the only slot machine you could when in all the others it was impposible to win. That's a very positive sign if something. And the jackpot were three stars, you could relate that to space and..."

"Stars are huge burning balls. How many times do I have to...Wait. Did you actually fall for that? C'mon guys, it was a joke." Clay gave a thumb up. "Of course I'm not giving up! I already told you! I'm going to space and nothing is going to stop me!" He clenched his fists in determination. "This year is going to be awesome! No, better than awesome! It's going to be FINE!" _Do they even know what that word means or do they just shout it whenever they feel like it?_

"Good job, Clio." Kristoph Gavin said, joining them.

"Oh, Chief. Were you watching!?"

"Yes." Kristoph said. "I had decisive evidence, so my trial ended quite fast, and I decide to check on my pupils."

"By the way, Clio, about your pay..." Clay started to say.

"Don't worry. Pay me when you can."

"Well, I could give you a paycheck right know, but then, what would be the difference between an astronaut and some random guy? So...What about dinner at my treat tonight?"

"You're going to treat all of us for dinner!?" Apollo said. "That's very generous of you!"

"Actually...I was hoping..."

"It could be a good way of relaxing after a day of hard work, indeed." Kristoph said.

"Yeah, we need to recharge for the next time." Apollo said.

"Is there going to be a next time?" Clio complained.

"Of course! I've learnt more today than in a full week of study for the Bar Exam!" Apollo said.

"Theory and practice aren't always the same. It's essential to master both." Kristoph said. "But taking a rest every now and then is also very important if you intend to always do your best. What do you think, Clio?"

"I guess it can't hurt." Clio replied.

"Then is settled!" Apollo said.

"You're going to pay for this, Pollo." Clay said.

* * *

><p>"And I never figured out why Clay got mad at me that day." Apollo said. Athena rolled her eyes. "But we had fun that night anyways. Hey, I feel much better now! You were right, Athena."<p>

"Told you." Athena said.

"And now, what about you?"

"W-what? What do you mean?"

"Is there anything concerning you?"

"N-No. Why do you ask?"

"Athena, you're a huge hypocryte."

"What!?"

"You're always 'I've studied psychology, talk will help', but you never tell anyone when something's bothering you. And it's always obvious beause you're transparent."

"But that's just because I don't want to make anyone worry for me. I've had already enough people suffering because of me for a few lifetimes, don't you think?"

"Too bad. If you worry for people, people worry for you. That's how it works." Apollo said. "Are you going to tell me or not?"

Athena sighed. "I'm starting to think that I'm not very good at this."

"At what?"

"At lawyering." Athena replied. "I would have freaked out in the Themis trial if it wasn't for all of you. Then Mr. Wright had to take over for me in the courtroom bombing trial, and I couldn't pull it off today either. I'm...a total loser."

"You know, I feel like that sometimes, too."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah. But you just have to do what we always do and turn things around."

"What?"

"Instead of thinking 'I suck because everybody had to be helping me all the time', you think 'I'm cool because I have lots of people willing to help me when I need it'."

"Actually, that could work."

"Besides, I think you're a great lawyer!"Apollo said. "We weren't with you in your last case and you did pretty well."

"Oh. That case. It's true that you weren't with me but...I had her."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And here ends the second case. What did you think of it, aside from being kind of weird and coming out of nowhere?**


	10. Turnabout Arrest: Investigation 1-1

"I've seen what you've done. That's not how we're supposed to do things!"

"And what are we supposed to do!? Let him get away with it again!?"

"I'm reporting this!"

"No. You're not."

* * *

><p><strong>January 14, 1:30 PM<strong>

**Wright Anything Agency**

Athena and a young girl in a purple robe were cleaning the office.

"Thanks for helping me out here, Pearly!" Athena said.

"You're welcome." Pearl replied."Maybe now this place can stay tidy for a few days. What do you do here to turn it into this mess so quickly?"

"Paperwork, mainly."

"I don't see any paperwork."

"It's over there, in our desks. The messy desk is Apollo's, the clash of trains is Mr. Wright's, the natural catastrophe is mine, and the post-apocalyptic dump is Trucy's. I don't know why she needs a desk, anyways."

"Those things...barely resemble a work desk." Pearl pointed. "Where did Mr. Nick go again?"

"He, Trucy and Apollo are going to a concert. A singer who's performing in a nearly city sent them three free passes. Apparently she's a friend of them or something like that. They'll be out the whole weekend."

"Poor Athena, they let you by yourself."

"I don't mind, really. I mean, she doesn't know me or anything and she couldn't have known that I work here." Athena explained. "And Trucy says that this will be good for Apollo. She's his favorite singer."

"Good for what?"

"He might cheer up. He's been down since that case last month."

"Doesn't he say that he's fine?"

"Yeah. A lot. Even more than usual. I think that means he's not fine."

"Oh."

"Besides, while they're not here, I'm in charge and that's cool!" She gave a V-sign.

Suddenly, a brown-haired woman in a lab coat stormed into the office.

"Apollo, I have a case for you!" She said.

"Huh...Hello?" Athena said.

"Who are you!?" The woman asked. _That's my line! _"Oh, I know! You must be Trucy's friends. That girl always manage to meet the most...colorful people." _There's something in that 'colorful' that sounded insulting._

"No. Actually, I work here." Athena said.

"Really? But how old are you?"

"18."

"And you're already a secretary? That's pretty impressive."

"No, I'm a lawyer."

"I don't have the time to play the wannabe game. Where's Apollo?"

"He's not here right now. But if it's a lawyer what you're looking for, I..."

"Darn it. Oh! But Mr. Wright did recover his badge, didn't he!? He could deal with it! Where is he?"

"He's not here either. But if you need an attorney..."

"I guess I'll have to wait here, then." She opened a Snackoos bag and started eating. _That's not very polite._

"But I'm a lawyer, I could take..."

"Stop wannabeing!" She threw Athena a Snackoo. _Auch!What was that for?_

"Listen, Apollo and Mr. Wright can't take your case because..."

She threw her another Snackoo. "I'll talk that with them, coffee girl."

"Are you trying to pick a fight!?" Widget beeped.

"Athena, remember what Mr. Nick tell you?" Pearl said.

"Oh, right." Athena recalled Phoenix saying 'Athena, you're in charge of the office while we're not here, but just two things. First, don't forget to water Charley. Second, don't make any fuss. We've had enough lawsuits for physical assaults against officers of the law already.'

The woman in a lab coat threw her another Snackoo.

"That one came out of nowhere!"Athena shouted.

"Sorry. I'm a little nervous." _It seems I'll have to prove that I'm a lawyer. As always._

"Look at this badge." Athena said. "See? I'm a lawyer."

"I'm not buying that. I heard that once someone impersonate Mr. Wright by using a fake badge." The woman retorted. "If you're trying to impersonate Mr. Wright, you got it all wrong. The suit is blue."

"I'm not trying to impersonate Mr. Wright!"

"For Apollo, it's red."

"It's an authentic badge, OK!?"

"That's for me to decide." She grabbed the badge. "Mostly silver...gold plating flaking...no corrosion due to sulfides...worth 50$. Yeah, it's the real deal."

"Can we talk like normal people now?"

"Weren't we?"

"So, what was your name again?"

"Oh, I'm Ema Skye, scientific detective."

"What's a scientific detective?"

"A detective who use the power of science to solve the cases!"

"But...don't do all detectives that? You know, with fingerprint powder and luminol and everything."

"But they have other people to do it for them! I do it myself!"

"I don't see what makes the difference." Widget chirped. Ema threw Athena a snackoo.

"So...you said something about a case." Athena said. "Did they assign you a very difficult case and need help to solve it?"

"No!" She threw her a snackoo. "They put that jerk in charge of the investigation."

"Hey! Speaking ill of people behind their backs isn't very polite." Pearl said.

"But he's a total jerk. Scientifically speaking." _If you are an example of nice detective, I don't want to deal with the jerks..._

"So then...Why did you come here?" Athena asked.

"Because the boss is in trouble!"

"Mr. Wright is in trouble!? Oh, no! What happened!?"

"Something happened to Mr. Wright!? Gosh, Is he OK!?"

"I don't know! You're the one who just told me that he was in trouble!"

"What? I didn't mean your boss, I meant my boss. The head of criminal affairs. He's in trouble!"

"Are we going to get to the point at some point, please?"

"He's under arrest for murder. That's all I know. I was looking for a lawyer for him."

"Well, I guess I can go to the detention center and talk with him, at least."

"I didn't ask you." Ema retorted. "But I guess you're better than nothing."

"Huh...You're welcome?"Athena said. "Pearly, would you help me with this? We're a bit short of staff right now."

"Count on it!" Pearl said, rolling up her sleeve.

* * *

><p><strong>January 14, 2:03 PM<strong>

**Detention Center - Visitor's room.**

Athena and Pearl were waiting in the room. Behind the bulletproof glass, a big man took a seat. He had brown eyes and short, black hair. He was wearing a light brown trenchcoat, a white shirt, a bright red tie and green pants. He had a little scar on the right side of his face and a bandaid on the left side. He also was carrying a pencil on his ear.

"Mr. Scruffy Detective!?" Pearl asked, surprised. _Scruffy? What kind of name is that?_

"Wait." The man said. "Those clothes...are you that little girl who was always hanging out with Wright!?" _Mr. Wright used to hang out with little girls!? _"Heck, you've really grown up! I'm glad to see you again after all this time, pal!"

"I'm very glad to see you too, Mr. Scruffy Detective!"

"Well, technically it's Mr. Scruffy Head Detective now, pal." The man said. "Or Chief Scruffy, if you like it better. But I still have my gun if you need to cheer up." _What?_

"Well, Chief Scruffy." Athena said. "We were told that you've been accused of murder."

"Oh! You must be that Wright's kid Skye told me about." Scruffy said. "Nice to meet you, pal!"

"No, actually I'm a different Wright's kid." Athena said. "But if you're a friend of Mr. Wright, then is settled. We'll defend you!" She punched her palm. "What can you tell us about the case?"

"I'm innocent, pal!" He shouted. "Well, I think."

"You think!?"

"Yeah, I mean...she appeared out of nowhere, and she was dead! And there was blood everywhere! Maybe I stepped on a secret switch and activated a trap that killed her!"

"Huh...Can you start at the beginning?"

"Of course, pal! This morning, we received a call from the victim, asking us to go and arrest a suspect near a building lot. When I got there...She appeared out of nowhere! And she was dead! And there was blood everywhere! That's all I can say."

"But...Wait. Is normal for the Head Detective of the Criminal Affairs Department to leave the precinct and arrest people!?"

"No, actually. But being behind that desk all day is so boring..."

"But don't you have more important things to do!?"

"Don't worry. Maggey can do the paperwork." _Then what do they pay you for?_

"Who's Maggey?"

"My secretary." _A secretary, huh? That girl sounds suspicious._

"Mr. Gumshoe." A guard called. _Gumshoe? That guy should show more respect for the head of criminal affairs! _"The prosecutor for your case just came. He wants to question you."

"Well, I have to go." Gumshoe said, standing up. "Good luck, pal." _Good luck? You're the one accused of murder! _

"There he goes." Athena said.

"What do we do know?" Pearl asked.

"I'd like to talk to this 'Maggey' girl."

"If she's his secretary, then she should be at the Criminal Affairs Department."

"There's where we go, then. Allons-y!"

* * *

><p><strong>January 14, 2:46 PM<strong>

**Police Department – Criminal Affairs**

When Athena and Pearl entered the offices, a woman suddenly pointed a gun to them. She had blue eyes and blond hair in a short ponytail. She was wearing black shorts, a pink T-shirt, white boots and a police cap.

"Hands up!" She shouted. "You're under arrest for invasion of the precinct!"

* * *

><p><strong>Court record:<strong>

**Profiles:**

**Pearl Fey **(Female; 17): An old friend of Mr. Wright. Ask later why he used to hang out with little kids.

**Ema Skye **(Female; 26): A self-proclaimed scientific detective. Apparently she knows Apollo and Mr. Wright.

**Scruffy **(Male; 40): The defendant and head of the Criminal Affairs Department. He's also an old friend of Mr. Wright. Ask later why he knows so many important people.

**Evidence:**

**Attorney's badge:** Nobody believes that I'm a lawyer unless I show them this.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry about the grammar and spelling problems. I review the chapters a few times before posting them, but I'm far from eagle-eyed, so some things (more like lots of things) escape my sight. What happenned to fanfiction spell-checker? It was a very useful tool.**


	11. Turnabout Arrest: Investigation 1-2

**A/N: I don't know if I've said it before, but this story is going to contain spoilers for all of the games. This chapter, for example, is going to have heavy spoilers for DD, and there will be more from now on, so...You've been warned.**

* * *

><p>"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!" Athena flinched.<p>

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!" The woman flinched and threw the gun up in the air, but then catched it and pointed it again. "Now you're under arrest for invasion of the precinct and trying to disarm an officer of the law!"

"What!?" Athena yelled. "We didn't do anything! I'm just a lawyer! Look at my badge!"

"That proves nothing! You could be a phony! Do you want me to add impersonation to the charges!?" _Why everybody thinks that I'm a phony today!?_

"Take it easy, Scarlett." Another woman said. She had brown eyes and black hair, and was wearing a brown skirt, a light blue dress shirt, a dark blue tie and glasses.

"But what if they are dangerous criminals, Ms. Byrde?"

"We're not, I swear!" Athena shouted.

"You're playing with fire!"

"That's not how detectives are supposed to behave." Byrde said. "Calm down, Scarlett."

"Yeah. Calm down, Scarlett!" Athena yelled.

"It's Detective Dycatt for you, rascal!"

"Scarlett, put away that gun, please." Byrde said.

"Not until someone frisks them!"

"Put it away at once, pal!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaack!" Dycatt flinched, stepped back and fell backwards. "For a moment there I thought you were the chief."

"Well, now that you are calm, you should go back to your work. I'll attend the visitors."

"What work? You've put that jerk in charge of the investigation."

"He's not that bad..."

"He called me clumsy feet!"

"What the heck just happened!?" Widget beeped.

"Sorry about this." Byrde replied. "Things here have been a bit crazy since last month."

"What happened last month?" Pearl asked.

"One of the detectives was found to be an international spy in disguise." Byrde explained. " It was in all the news. Didn't you know it?"

"Yes, I know about it." Athena said. _I know too well about it._

"How do I know what's real and what's fake anymore?" Dycatt muttered.

"Well, thinking that everybody is a dangerous criminal is not the way to go." Byrde said.

"But even the chief has been arrested!"

"But he's innocent!"

"How can you tell!? How do you know even that he's the real chief and not someone impersonating him?" _It seems that case hit them hard. I guess it's just natural._

"Now that you're talking about Chief Scruffy, we're defending him." Athena said.

"Really!? Thank you very much, pal!" Byrde said. "It's my fault that he got arrested."

"What? What did you do?"

"I guess I should start introducing myself. I'm Maggey Byrde, his secretary, and my life has been a string of disasters. When I was 6 months old, I fell from the 9th floor of my apartment building, I've been hit by all sorts of vehicles, gotten sick from all sorts of foods, failed at almost every test I've ever taken, experienced almost every kind of disaster, and never won or even tied at a game of tic-tac-toe. That's why they called me 'Goddess of misfortune'. And my bad luck also latches onto the people around me."

"So you think that's your bad luck what got the chief into trouble?"

"Yes, pal!" _Blaming herself, huh? This girl is more suspicious by the minute._

A phone started ringing."Oh, excuse me." Maggey said and picked it up. "Criminal Affairs Department...Yes, sir...We'll take care of it, sir." He put it down and turned to Dycatt. "There's a bank robbery at Burglar Street. Would you handle it?"

"Count on it!" Dycatt said, running and tripping on her way out.

"Well, I guess you're here to talk about the case."

"Yeah. But before that, something's been bothering me." Athena said. "What are those strange creatures in posters all over the walls?"

"They're kind of cute." Widget chirped.

"I know the one in the big poster behind the chief's desk!" Pearl said. " He's the Blue Badger, the mascot of the police force. He fights the Bad Badger along with the Pink Badger and the Proto-Badger."

"That was years ago, pal." Maggey said. "Now the Bad Badger is more like a rival, because the true enemy is the Evil Badger. In order to defeat him, the Blue Badger must train with the Wise Badger and needs the help of the Pretty Badger, his new girlfriend." She pointed to three posters in the wall. In one of them there was a red 'badger' holding a trident, the second one pictured a blue 'badger' with a long beard and holding a crook, and on the other there was a pink one wearing lipstick and high heels. "And that's just where they are in the TV show, because in the comic books..."

"No spoilers, please." Widget chirped.

"Back to the point, what do you know about the case?" Athena asked.

"Well, the victim called here this morning."

"And asked for someone to arrest a suspect? That's what Chief Scruffy told us."

"More or less. Actually, it was a voice message. You can hear it yourself if you want. "

"Please."

Maggey pressed a few buttons on the phone and a feminine voice started speaking. "Hello. I know this sound weird but...I think I just ticketed that man we were talking about the other day. The guy ran a light. Can you come here and lend me a hand? I'm at Wonder Street, near the building lot for the new department store."

**Voice message added to the court record.**

("Hello. I know this sound weird but...I think I just ticketed that man we were talking about the other day. The guy ran a light. Can you come here and lend me a hand? I'm at Wonder Street, near the building lot for the new department store.")

"That's a pretty weird message. Did the victim work here or something?"

"No, actually. The victim was Amber Redgreen, a traffic guard. But he was over here a few days ago."

"What brings a traffic guard to the Criminal Affairs Department?"

"We're collaborating with the Traffic Department. A lot of criminals are caught for breaking traffic laws when they're trying to escape. Officer Redgreen came to gather information about wanted suspects in search and seizure. I guess she was talking about one of them."

"You guess?"

"Yeah. I wasn't here when she came. She only talked to the detectives."

"And not with the chief?"

"He wasn't here either. We were in a meeting."

"So you don't know who she was talking about?"

"No, I'm sorry. After the call, he ran out of here and straight to the crime scene."

"Is that normal for a chief?"

"Well...No. But he sometimes misses working in investigations and go to check crime scenes to remember the old times. I sent another detective after him to ensure his security."

"And you don't know what actually happened there?"

"Everything happened just this morning and the information is still not very clear. But you can go and check the crime scene if you need more information. It's the building lot for the Godly Tailor department store, at Wonder Street, not too far away from here."

"Thanks. I think that's where we're going next."

* * *

><p><strong>January 14, 3:31 PM<strong>

**Wonder Street**

At the end of the street there was a big metallic fence, and behind it, a building under construction. Next to it, there was a red car. A fat man with short brown hair and green eyes and wearing a police uniform was leaning on it and eating donuts.

"Is that building the future Godly Tailor Department Store?" Athena asked.

"I don't know. We should ask that officer." Pearl said. "Excuse me, Mr. Officer, Is this building Godly Tailor."

"Detective, actually." The man replied. "Detective Douglas Gusler, at that. And you're correct, this is Godly Tailor. But civilians aren't allowed at the moment."

"Is it because of the murder?"

"How do you know?"

"We're Chief Scruffy's lawyers. Are you the detective in charge of the investigation?"

"No. That jerk is in charge."

"And do you know something about the case."

"Who doesn't? This case has been such a pain in the neck."

_Wait. Just now...Was that discord? If I focus and with the help of Widget, I should be able to find a contradictory emotion._

**Who doesn't? This case has been such a pain in the neck. (Green:3 ;Red:3; Blue:3)**

"GOT IT!" Athena shouted.

"Where did that come from all of a sudden?" Gusler asked.

"Why are you feeling joy when talking about how this case is a pain?"

"W-what?" Gusler flinched. "How can you tell!?"

"The voice of your heart."

"Huh...whatever. It might be because we've finally caught Butcher."

"Who?"

"Snakey Butcher. The guy that Officer Redgreen ticketed. An assassin for hire. Well, actually he does whatever he gets paid for, but murders is what he's known for. He has killed over a hundred persons."

"That guy sounds dangerous."

"He's one of the most dangerous persons you could find. Some assassins have values and some sort of morals. He doesn't. There's no line for that guy. He'd set a kindergarten on fire if you paid him for it, and he wouldn't even ask why."

"T-that's horrible." Pearl said.

"That's why we talk Officer Redgreen about him, even if he's not in search and seizure."

"What!?" Athena shouted. "How can a man like that not be in search and seizure!?"

"Because his identity is a mystery." Gusler replied. "Well, actually, it's not that much of a mystery. There's a man that always happens to be near where Butcher's crimes occur. But we've never been able to do anything against him because he never leaves a clue. Until now."

"Until know?"

"Yeah. Thanks to Officer Redgreen, we could finally arrest him. I did it myself."

"He left a clue this time?"

"Yeah, in this very car."

"What!?"

"He used this car to get away of his last crime. He killed a businessman by the name of Case Close in his office three blocks from here. I and Detective Dycatt were investigating it this morning. We came here after hearing about the chief's arrest and Butcher was here in his car. That was when we learnt that Officer Redgreen had stopped him here and ticketed him. The ticket is still on the car."

"Oh. Can we see it?"

"Why not?"

**Traffic Ticket added to the Court Record.**

(For: Not respecting traffic lights. Money to pay: 200$. Time: 7:35 AM. Date: January 14th.)

"We registered the car and we found the weapon used to kill Close in the trunk. It was a candlestick with his blood on it. We finally could catch him."

**Candlestick added to the Court Record.**

(Snakey Butcher killed Case Close with it. It was found in his car.)

"So that's what you're happy about."

"Yeah. I've been in charge of this case for a long time and now I finally can relax and eat my donuts."

"Aren't there lot of cases to work on?"

"There are also lots of donuts to eat."

"No wonder why the police force has such a bad reputation." Widget chirped.

Gusler pulled out a tape recorder. "Note for the future: Lawyers are mean and insensitive."

"Hey! I didn't..."

"Don't try to deny it now." He pulled out another tape recorder and pressed a few buttons. Then, it emit Widget's voice:

"No wonder why the police force has such a bad reputation."

"You were recording our conversation!?"

"You never know when you'll need to prove something."

"Isn't that illegal!?"

"Not if I don't tell anyone about it."

"Whatever. Can we enter the crime scene?"

"It's a free country. Do what you want. I'm just here eating donuts."

"Huh...OK. Vamos, Pearly!"

* * *

><p><strong>January 14, 3:45 PM<strong>

**Godly Tailor Building Lot – Zone B**

When Athena and Pearl got near the building, a young man stood in their way. He had gray eyes and scruffy blond hair. He was wearing black boots, gray pants, a black closed trenchcoat with a police badge on the lapel and a brown deerstalker cap.

"Kids aren't allowed." He said.

"I'm not a kid!" Athena snapped. "I'm a lawyer!"

"Those two events aren't mutually exclusive these days." He shrugged. "Lawyer kids aren't allowed either."

"How old do we need to be to check the crime scene?"

"How old are you?"

"18."

"19 or above."

"Jerk." Widget beeped.

"Did that toy just talk?"

"Widget is not a toy!"

"You gave it a name!?" He burst out laughing. "Man, that's childish even for a high schooler!"

"I'm not a high schooler!"

"Oh, excuse me. Middle school, then? Heck, you're really grown up for your age." _That's it. Someone is calling for a knuckle sandwich._

"Athena, remember what Mr. Nick said?" Pearl said.

"Oh. Right. Sorry." _This is going to be hard._

"Pay attention to your babysitter, lawyer kid. Getting in trouble with adults is not a good idea. _Very hard._

"You aren't behaving like an adult at all."

"I'm an adult, lawyer kid. I'm 20 years old."

"What!?" Athena shouted. "That's just two years older than me!"

"I know what you're thinking." _You're a huge hypocrite! _"'You're 20 years old and you're already a detective? That's awesome! You're right. I'm Barney Copper, the prodigy detective everybody talks about." He hit his chest proudly. _You're that jerk everybody talks about._

"So you're the detective in charge of the investigation?"

"Yep."

"And you're not going to let us investigate?"

"Nop."

"That's not very nice." Pearl said.

"Wait. You mean...that because I'm a prodigy, it's my duty to teach the future generations everything I know. _What? _Then take a seat. I'll show you how adults investigate!" _I don't know if he's serious about this or is still making fun of me, but in any case, is my opportunity to look around here. _Detective Copper pulled out a small notebook and started to turn pages. "The case is pretty easy. The head detective of criminal affairs killed a traffic guard right here this morning."

"How can you suspect your superior!?"

"Hey, I like the Big Shot, but the first rule is not to get emotionally involved."

"But emotions are what make us human!"

"That's not technically true. Besides, emotions can bias and confuse us. I guess that kids don't understand the importance of a cool head. We have evidence, a witness... And when they arrested him, he was covered in blood. What I'm supposed to think?"

"What!?"

* * *

><p><strong>Court record:<strong>

**Profiles:**

**Pearl Fey **(Female; 17): An old friend of Mr. Wright. Ask later why he hanged out with little kids.

**Ema Skye **(Female; 26): A self-proclaimed scientific detective. Apparently she knows Apollo and Mr. Wright.

**Scruffy **(Male; 40): The defendant and head of the Criminal Affairs Department. He's also an old friend of Mr. Wright. Ask later why he knows so many important people.

**Maggey Byrde **(Female; 31): Chief Scruffy's secretary. She's a very unlucky person. Or so she says.

**Scarlett Dycatt **(Female; 25): One of the detectives in Criminal Affairs. She's a bit paranoid.

**Amber Redgreen **(Female; 28): The victim. A traffic guard.

**Douglas Gusler **(Male; 30): One of the detectives in Criminal Affairs. He loves donuts.

**Snakey Butcher **(Male; ?): An assasin for hire. He killed Case Close the day of the crime.

**Evidence:**

**Attorney's badge:** Nobody believes that I'm a lawyer unless I show them this.

**Voice message: **"Hello. I know this sound weird but...I think I just ticketed that man we were talking about the other day. The guy ran a light. Can you come here and lend me a hand? I'm at Wonder Street, near the building lot for the new department store."

**Traffic ticket: **For: Not respecting traffic lights. Money to pay: 200$. Time: 7:35 AM Date: January 14th.

**Candlestick: **Snakey Butcher killed Case Close with it. It was found in his car.


	12. Turnabout Arrest: Investigation 1-3

"Not so sure about his innocence now, huh?" Detective Copper said.

"Of course I am!" Athena shouted. "And I'm going to find some evidence here to prove it!"

"Good luck with that."

"This place...is going to be a department store?" Pearl asked.

"Yeah, but this building still has a long way to go before that." Athena said. "Only the basic structure is built for now. Beams and nothing else."

"And when it's finished, it'll be Godly Tailor, the fanciest department store in the city." Copper said. "Your half-time waitress salary won't be enough to buy anything here."

"I work in a law office!" _Or some facsimile thereof._

"A coffee girl salary is not enough, either."

"I'm a lawyer!"

"You say that a lot, lawyer kid."

"Could you please stop calling me 'lawyer kid'?"

"But of course. How do you want me to call you? Child? Toddler? Rugrat? Moppet? Brat? Scamp? Tyke? Munchkin?..."

"Athena!"

"What?"

"Athena Cykes. That's my name."

Copper burst into laughter. "Hahahahahaha! A-Athena Cykes!? But what the heck of a name is that!?" He wiped a tear off his eye."Hahahahahahahahahahaha! Don't they make fun of you in school?" He suddenly stop laughing. "If they bully you, you should ask for the help of an adult like me." He hit his chest proudly. "I'll teach them a lesson." _You're the only bully here._

"So are you going to call me Athena?"

He chuckled. "Sorry, I can't call you something so humiliating. It'd be unbecoming of a gentleman. I think I'll stick with Brat. I like the sound of it. Don't you think, Brat?" _I'm going to punch this guy sooner or later. It can't be helped._

"Can we go back to the case?"

"Yes. The body was found there." He said, pointing to a white tape outline next to a pool of blood. "Normally, we use chalk, but in a sandy ground like this, that would be difficult."

"T-that red thing i-is..." Pearl stuttered.

"That's called blood." Copper said. "B-L-O-O-D. It usually appears where people die violently. Are you taking notes, Brat?"

"What?"

"Maybe this is too much blood for a pair of kids..."

"Have you seen much blood, detective?" Pearl asked.

"Well, I've seen lots of it in photos."

"Photos?" Athena asked. "You mean...this is the first time you've seen real blood? But how long have you been a detective?"

"Actually, I made it to a detective last month. But do you know what happens when a detective is revealed to be a phony? Someone has to review all of his cases and search for fishy things in them, and the one to do it is, of course, the new guy, even if he's a prodigy. And detectives can take a lot of cases in a whole year, so I've been quite busy."

"Wait. Then...This is your first case!?"

"Well, technically. _So he's rookier than me!? _"But I've learnt a lot of things reviewing those cases so I'm not exactly a newbie! Come to think of it, I think I've read Athena Cykes somewhere. I might have looked over one of your cases." He pulled out his notebook and started turning pages. "Yeah, the one of Themis Legal Academy." _Actually that's my only case so far, but I'm not telling him. _"Do you remember that Means guy?"

"Yeah. Better than I'd like."

"Well, there was a procedural error in his arrest and we had to set him free."

"What!?" Athena flinched.

Copper burst out laughing. "Hahahahahahahaha! You should have seen your face! Hahahahahaha!"

"Jerk!" Widget beeped.

"Doesn't your toy know more words?"

"Pearly, let's investigate on our own before another murder happens here."

"OK." Pearl replied. "Have you seen that thing in that beam?"

"Yeah. What is it?"

"I don't know. It's too high to say from here."

"I'll try to get it."

"What!? But it's like ten feet high!"

"That's what legs are for!" Athena jumped and tried to reach the beam, but she couldn't.

"Too high for you, Brat?" Detective Copper said. "Do you need the help of an adult?"

"You're not that tall." Athena said. "There's no way you can reach that."

Copper leaned his head and rose an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge?"

"Yes!"

He took a run-up and jumped, but he couldn't reach the beam.

"Told you." Athena said.

He took another run-up and jumped one more time, failing again.

"You can stop now. There has to be other way to get there. A stepladder or something."

He tried it again with similar results.

"Did he got stuck in a space-time infinite loop or something?"

"Nah, he's just stupid." A feminine voice said. Athena turned to see Ema Skye, eating snackoos.

"Detective Skye! What are you doing here?"

"Just checking how the investigation is going." Ema said. "I'm not very confident about you, to be honest."

"Hey!" Athena shouted. "We're trying our best!"

"I'm just saying...that you might need the power of science." Ema said, holding her pink glasses.

"You mean...forensicking!?" Pearl said.

"Yes! I'm going to show you how cool science actually is!" Ema said. "Have you ever...dusted for fingerprints?"

"Yes." Athena said.

"Oh. Then...What about luminol? Do you know how it works?"

"Yes." Pearl said.

"Oh. And footprints analysis? Have you ever done that?"

"No. That's new." Athena said.

"Well, this is my footprint analysis kit."

"Were you carrying all that in your bag?"

"Just in case." _In case of what? _"Anyways, there are three sets of fingerprints here and all of them lead to where the body was found. I'll teach you how to do it. First, you have to pour plaster into the print."

"Heh. This is actually kind of funny."

"Watch out! Or we'll run out of plaster."

"OK."

"Now, dry it with this dryer. And then, cover the model with ink. Finally, we press it onto paper and all that's left is to compare it with the samples."

"This one seems to belong to Amber Redgreen, the victim. It make sense, I guess."

"Let's check the other ones."

"Can I do it this time?" Pearl asked.

"But I'm having fun." Athena complained. Ema threw her a snackoo.

"Let everybody have fun!"

"Fine."

"This one belongs to Mr. Scruffy Detective." Pearl said after analyzing the footprints.

"That's no good." Athena said. "What about the other ones?"

"They belong to...I don't know who this man is."

"Oh, that's the witness." Ema said.

"The witness?"

"Yeah, Detective Selak. He's a witness and also the one who arrested the boss."

"I guess that makes sense. The victim's footprints stop where the body was found, but the witness' and Chief Scruffy's go back out of the building lot." Athena said. "We should talk with this witness."

"I saw him at Criminal Affairs before coming here." Ema said.

"TAKE THAT!" Detective Copper shouted, suddenly joining them.

"What now?" Athena asked.

"I got what was on that beam, Brat." _He was still with that? _He opened his hand to show a big hairpin shaped like a bird.

**Hairpin added to the Court Record.**

(It's big and shaped like a bird. Found in a high beam at the crime scene.)

"Woah. That thing is pretty big for a hairpin." Athena said. "Do you think it's related to the case?"

"I don't know. I'm going to have it analyzed." Copper said. "Hey, Laby, will you watch over the crime scene while I take this to the labs?"

"My name is Ema, jerk!" Ema threw him a snackoo. "And it's snack time."

"Can't you eat and watch over this place at the same time?"

"It's not just eating. You have to enjoy the food. It requires full attention of all of my senses."

"Are you trying to gain weigh or something? I don't think you need it." Ema threw him another snackoo. "Besides, if you have time to play with your toys..."

"They aren't toys!"

"Then why do you have access to them?" Ema threw him another snackoo.

"I'm not running out of them."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Hey, guys, don't fight." Pearl said.

"Just let them be, Pearly." Athena said. "Let's go and find that witness."

* * *

><p><strong>January 14, 5:40 PM<strong>

**Police Department – Criminal Affairs**

When Athena and Pearl entered the office, they saw an old man with brown eyes and gray hair that was spiky on the crown, but was in a ponytail on the back and had a bang on the front that covered one of his eyes. He was wearing red platform boots, white baggy bell-bottoms, a red sleeveless leather jacket, a blue backwards snapback and sunglasses on top of it.

"Do you think this guy is...?" Athena said.

"Let's ask him." Pearl said. "Excuse me, sir..."

"Who ya' callin' 'sir', fartknocker!?" He shouted.

"Hey! That wasn't very polite!"

"'Course not, sis. We youngsters don't worry our nuts with manners stuff."

"Do you happen to be Detective Selak?" Athena asked.

"That's me, babe." He said. "But don't call me the last name like an old man. The name's Mat."

"Oh. Mat coming from Matthew?"

"Matthew sounds geezer, you know." He said. "I'm still young, get it?"

"OBJECTION!" Widget beeped.

"Anyways, we heard that you're a witness to Officer Redgreen's murder."

"I am. Maggey asked me to look out for the big cheese, and when I got to the building lot, I caught him red-handed."

"Are you sure about what you saw?"

"What!? I have you draft already, sucker." Selak said. "What you have in your head right now is 'You're an old fogy as blind as a bat. Go and retire already.'"_Actually, it was 'Why the life purpose of every single witness seems to be making things as difficult as possible for us?' _"Well, I wasn't sure about testifying against the chief, but know I'm going to do it just to prove you that I'm more than capable of doing my job. See ya, chicks." He ran out of the room.

"That didn't go very well." Athena muttered. "What was up with that guy?"

"Excuse him." Maggey said, coming in. "He still hasn't accepted the idea of being old or having to retire at some point." _Come to think of it, that outfit screamed 'life-crisis.' _"How's going the investigation?"

"Not very well." Athena said. "We don't know a lot about the case and what we do know is going to be against our client."

"This reminds me a lot of Mr. Nick's cases." Pearl said.

"Anyways, I think we've done everything we could for now." Athena said. "We'll have to get to the bottom of everything in court."

* * *

><p><strong>Court record:<strong>

**Profiles:**

**Pearl Fey **(Female; 17): An old friend of Mr. Wright. Ask later why he hanged out with little kids.

**Ema Skye **(Female; 26): A self-proclaimed scientific detective. Apparently she knows Apollo and Mr. Wright.

**Scruffy **(Male; 40): The defendant and head of the Criminal Affairs Department. He's also an old friend of Mr. Wright. Ask later why he knows so many important people.

**Maggey Byrde **(Female; 31): Chief Scruffy's secretary. She's a very unlucky person. Or so she says.

**Scarlett Dycatt **(Female; 25): One of the detectives in Criminal Affairs. She's a bit paranoid.

**Amber Redgreen **(Female; 28): The victim. A traffic guard.

**Douglas Gusler **(Male; 30): One of the detectives in Criminal Affairs. He loves donuts.

**Snakey Butcher **(Male; ?): An assassin for hire. He killed Case Close the day of the crime.

**Barney Copper **(Male; 20): The rookie detective in charge of the investigation. He's a jerk.

**Matthew Selak **(Male; 75): One of the detectives in Criminal Affairs. He doesn't like the idea of retirement.

**Evidence:**

**Attorney's badge:** Nobody believes that I'm a lawyer unless I show them this.

**Voice message: **"Hello. I know this sound weird but...I think I just ticketed that man we were talking about the other day. The guy ran a light. Can you come here and lend me a hand? I'm at Wonder Street, near the building lot for the new department store."

**Traffic ticket: **For: Not respecting traffic lights. Money to pay: 200$. Time: 7:35 AM Date: January 14th.

**Candlestick: **Snakey Butcher killed Case Close with it. It was found in his car.

**Hairpin: **It's big and shaped like a bird. Found in a high beam at the crime scene.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Not all the names are punny, as is the case of Parker Seith, so don't worry too much if you don't get one. But since you're asking, I'll explain the ones that are really puns:**

**Tom B.(Bartholomew) Stone: Tombstone**

**Olive 'Oli' Dwidow: Old widow**

**Justin Laws: Just in laws (Is a bad thing to crack up at your own jokes? Because I'm doing it right now)**

**Winny Strick: Win streak**

**From now on, I'll explain the puns at the end of every case.**


End file.
